The high costs of sending money home mean the Nigerian diaspora are losing out on up to seven percent when sending money home.

Each year $20billion is sent into Nigeria in remittances and the final week before Christmas is one of the busiest times to send money. The World Bank reports that the average cost of sending money is around 7.21 percent with sub-saharan Africa being one of the most expensive regions to send money to at 9.13 percent.

However, a recently concluded research by WorldRemit reveals that switching to lower cost channels could mean thousands of Nigerians could receive an extra Christmas present this year.  The savings were highest when sending from Australia to Nigeria with a saving of US$14.3 enough to buy a board-game. Read more on the report and infographic here .

With hourly wages in Australia ranging from earning between US$15-25 on average, these high costs mean the diaspora are having to work an extra half hour just to cover the elevated costs of sending money home this Christmas. The impact of the savings could be even more significant to those back home in Nigeria where the saving of US$14.3 could be at least half a day’s wages. 

 “It’s important to consider that the cost of sending money goes far beyond the transactional cost. Traditional methods mean travelling to an agent to pay in money, taking time off work to do so, knowing your family and friends receiving the money will have to do the same,” said Ismail Ahmed, CEO of WorldRemit.

Saving the cost of public transport in Australia to pay in money just a couple of times a month could be enough to buy a board-game or a box of chocolates in Nigeria. As WorldRemit data suggests most people send around three times a month, the savings across the month of December could be even greater.

“We see that being able to send money more frequently without paying high costs and wasting time brings families and friends closer together even when living hundreds of miles apart. So we hope we can give people more time with family and friends this Christmas, added Ahmed.

What you didn’t know about WorldRemit

WorldRemit was founded in 2010. The Chief Executive Ismail Ahmed – a UK based  entrepreneur from Somaliland – saw the opportunity to give customers a better service by offering faster, lower-cost and more secure digital money transfers compared to traditional ‘bricks and mortar’ agents.  

The company has grown quickly: it has ranked in the Sunday Times Tech Track top 100 list of fastest growing tech companies for the past two years in a row.  Backed by Accel Partners and TCV – investors in Facebook, Spotify, Netflix and Slack.

Dr Ahmed was recently voted the third most influential person in the 2018 Powerlist of 100 people, which recognises those of African and African Caribbean heritage.  In 2017 WorldRemit was recognised by the FT and the IFC as the UK’s most Transformative Business in the Transformational Business Awards.

WorldRemit is changing the way people send money, with it’s global headquarters in London and UK. WorldRemit also has offices in the United States, Canada, South Africa, Singapore, the Philippines, Japan, Australia and New Zealand.

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