Kenya has established itself as a market with increased diaspora inflows after a report by global payments company, World remit indicated that it was among the top 3 countries in Africa where its users globally send money to.
The data sent to newsrooms revealed that within five months, users from Kenya and Zimbabwe had sent £170 million GBP (Sh24.47 billion) coming after Nigeria -which received £270 million (Sh38.86 billion) over the same period.
Remittances have been steadily increasing in Kenya in recent years hitting a record high every year since 2016
Data from the Central Bank of Kenya (CBK) shows that remittances reached USD 3.71 billion (Sh421.98 billion) in 2021, up 20.2 per cent from USD 3.09 billion (sh351.46 billion) a year earlier.
In a statement marking International Day of Family Remittances, the London-based firm said that the top uses of remittances are education, medical expenses, and household needs.
“More customers are also shifting to digital channels which have proven to be more affordable, secure, and fast,” the firm which provides international money transfer services across 130 countries in over 70 different currencies revealed.
Over the same period, Ghana came in fourth after receiving 140 million GBP (Sh20.87 billion) followed by Uganda and Cameroon which received 100 million GBP (Sh14.39 billion) and 75 million GBP (Sh10.79 billion) respectively.
The firm also processed 60 million GBP (sh8.63 billion) and 40 million GBP (Sh5.85 billion) for Tanzania and Rwanda respectively while South Africa and Somaliland received 55million GBP (Sh7.91 billion).
The firm says that the continued shift to digital remittance technologies has made it more convenient and affordable for those in the diaspora to send money back home.
“The shift to digital remittances accelerated during the pandemic and has contributed to the strong inflows we’ve seen in Kenya. Digital technology has disrupted the cost of remittances by making them more affordable. It has also improved the speed of transactions and the overall customer experience,” the payments company said previously.
It allows receivers in Kenya to receive their funds as a bank transfer, on M-PESA and other mobile wallets, as cash pick up in selected banks and financial institutions, and as airtime top-up on their phone.
In the Asia region, the Philippines and Fiji topped after users sent more than $550M USD and $40M USD over the same period.
