Zambia recieves £7million worth of remittances from Zambians in diaspora
ZAMBIA receives £7million worth of remittance from Zambians in the diaspora every year, a new research published at the Global Remittance Conference in New York has revealed .
And the research has also revealed that sending money to Africa was more expensive than anywhere else in the world.
The report was commissioned by Financial Sector Deepening Africa (FSDA) and written by Developing Markets Associates (DMA).
This is contained in a statement released in Lusaka yesterday by Financial Sector Deepening Zambia (FSDZ) senior communications officer Nkatya Kabwe.
FSDZ) chief executive officer Betty Wilkinson said in Zambia, £7 million was sent each year by 30,897 Zambians living in the United Kingdom (UK).
Ms Wilkinson said the average cost of sending £120 from UK to Zambia was 13 per cent, one of the highest average cost in the region, and almost twice as much as sending money to neighbouring Zimbabwe, where it costs just about seven per cent.
The report further argues that existing technology like regional automated clearing houses, remittance payment processing hubs and aggregators could all make sending money from the UK to Africa much cheaper.
"The report shows that the average cost of sending money to Africa is almost 10 per cent, compared to the global average of just over seven per cent.
"Yet the United Nations (UN) Sustainable Development Goals say that by 2030 the global
average price for remittances should not exceed three per cent of face
value, with even the most expensive countries not being more than five per
cent," Ms Wilkinson said.
She said the report showed that one and a half million people in the UK
send over four billion pounds to Africa every year but that nine out of 10 of these transactions were carried out using cash and only one in 20 was initiated online
And the research has also revealed that sending money to Africa was more expensive than anywhere else in the world.
The report was commissioned by Financial Sector Deepening Africa (FSDA) and written by Developing Markets Associates (DMA).
This is contained in a statement released in Lusaka yesterday by Financial Sector Deepening Zambia (FSDZ) senior communications officer Nkatya Kabwe.
FSDZ) chief executive officer Betty Wilkinson said in Zambia, £7 million was sent each year by 30,897 Zambians living in the United Kingdom (UK).
Ms Wilkinson said the average cost of sending £120 from UK to Zambia was 13 per cent, one of the highest average cost in the region, and almost twice as much as sending money to neighbouring Zimbabwe, where it costs just about seven per cent.
The report further argues that existing technology like regional automated clearing houses, remittance payment processing hubs and aggregators could all make sending money from the UK to Africa much cheaper.
"The report shows that the average cost of sending money to Africa is almost 10 per cent, compared to the global average of just over seven per cent.
"Yet the United Nations (UN) Sustainable Development Goals say that by 2030 the global
average price for remittances should not exceed three per cent of face
value, with even the most expensive countries not being more than five per
cent," Ms Wilkinson said.
She said the report showed that one and a half million people in the UK
send over four billion pounds to Africa every year but that nine out of 10 of these transactions were carried out using cash and only one in 20 was initiated online