Nigeria is once again Sub Sahara Africa’s biggest recipient of remittances into the region where the money transfers went up by 6.2 percent to $45 billion, a new World Bank report has shown.
What Impact does Nigerian Policy Have on Remittances?
This increase in money sent actually represents a rebound of the total remittances received by Nigerians over the previous year, according to the press release from November 17, 2021. The statement partly attributes this increase to measures that were introduced by the country’s monetary authorities in the first quarter of 2021.
These steps are intended to promote the use of official channels for sending money home.
“Nigeria, the region’s largest recipient, is experiencing a moderate rebound in remittance flows, in part due to the increasing influence of policies intended to channel inflows through the banking system,” the statement explained.
As previously reported by Bitcoin.com News, the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) — which had just issued its directive that targeted crypto entities — announced the start of an incentive scheme that rewarded recipients for withdrawing via the banking system back in March 2021. Officials have stated that this scheme helps to improve formal remittances in the country.
UN Target for Sending Costs Still Not Met
Concerning the cost of remittances, the World Bank statement said the region’s sending fee — which dropped marginally from 8.9% to 8% in the first quarter of 2021 — still remains one of the highest in the world. The World Bank attributes this high cost of sending remittance to Sub Sahara Africa to the “small quantities of formal flows and the utilization of black-market exchange rates.”
This sending cost shows, too that Sub Sahara Africa is far above the UN Sustainable Development Goal (SDG), 10.c 1, target to reduce this to below 3 percent. With 4.6 per cent, the sending costs of only South East Asia have been comparable to that SDG indicator.
Do you think it’s possible to reduce the cost of sending remittances to Sub Sahara Africa to under 3%? Let us know what you think by commenting below.
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