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Migrants hit by high fees to send money home (www.bbc.com)

submitted 4 months ago by tardigrada@beehaw.org to c/finance@beehaw.org

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One target of the UN Sustainable Development Goals is that by 2030, remittance fees should be less than 3%, and total fees to send and receive money between a pair of countries should be no more than 5%. Some researchers believe that to be truly affordable, the first goal should be even less than 3%.

The International Monetary Fund has estimated that reaching this target could generate $32bn (£26bn), even apart from the direct-cost savings.

This is because remittances have such powerful knock-on effects for the economy, and people tend to send more in remittances when fees are lower.

Yet the world is far off this target. According to the World Bank, the global average is 6.2%, over double the target.

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[–] ericjmorey@beehaw.org 1 points 4 months ago

The point is not to be the "rational economist" who doesn't pick up money off the ground because someone else would have picked it up if it was really there.