Overview
• The Global Money Transfer Index, a survey of 30,600 consumers in 20 countries across the Middle East, Africa and Asia Pacific, was launched by Western Union to voice consumers‘ international money transfer preferences.
• 64% of money transfer consumers send and/or receive money once a month or more and 75% expect these remittances to increase over the next 12 months.
• Remittances play an important role in current and future financial planning; family support is identified as the primary purpose for remitting, but transfers also play a strong role in paying for education costs, supporting business interests at home and saving for the future.
Family Support
The Global Money Transfer Index reveals that family support is identified as the main purpose for remitting. 79% of receiving consumers must ask for more money due to higher global cost of living and 71% of senders agree they are transferring more than previously to meet these needs.
Future Financial Planning
Remittances not only help families with their immediate needs but also play an important role in future financial planning. Paying for education costs ranks second highest as a reason why people remit money, while supporting business interests at home and saving for the future are also cited by consumers as reasons they use international money transfer capabilities today.
Post-Pandemic Recovery
Jean Claude Farah, President of Middle East and Asia Pacific at Western Union states that although economies have gone into post-pandemic recovery, macroeconomic conditions have made people’s daily lives more challenging. This increases the importance of remittances which remain resilient due to their purpose.
Western Union’s ‘Evolve 25’ Strategy
The findings from the Global Money Transfer Index endorse Western Union’s ‚Evolve 25‘ strategy which combines high-value, accessible retail and digital financial services for all customers around the world.