Remittances flows to Latin America and the Caribbean grew an estimated 6.5% to $103 billion in 2020, supported by a recovering economy and moderately improving labour market in the USA.
CARICOM Member States however only accounted for 6.8% with total remittances equalling $7.074 B. According to the Migration and Development Brief published by the World Bank, Haiti (US$3.1 B) and Jamaica (US$3.0B) accounted for 86.2% of remittances in CARICOM.
Other CARICOM Member States received the following remittance flows: Guyana (US$361 M); Trinidad & Tobago (US$178 M); Barbados (US$108 M); Belize (US$93 M); Dominica (US$49 M); Grenada (US$48 M); St. Vincent and the Grenadines (US$44 M); St. Lucia (US$41 M); St. Kitts and Nevis (US$26 M); Antigua & Barbuda (US$25 M); and Suriname (US$1 M).
According to the Brief, the cost of remittance transfers to the region was 5.6% in the fourth quarter of 2020. Banking regulations (related to AML/CFT) raise the risk profile of remittance service providers and thereby increase costs in some corridors. (WB)
Extract from the CARICOM BUSINESS Newsletter Vol 4 No 19
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