Remittances save lives.
The money you send puts food on the table. Pays to treat loved ones who are sick. Sends kids to school.
This support is happening on a huge scale. 1 in 9 people around the world are supported by money that is sent to them by family or friends living in other countries. And in the UK, diaspora communities sent an estimated $10.1 billion in remittance in 2022. This is more than the entire UK foreign aid budget.
In East Africa, children and families are right now experiencing a hunger crisis driven by severe drought and increased food prices.
The money you send is a lifeline - but the cost to remit is too high.
Fees for transferring money typically range from 7-5% of the amount you send. During a cost-of-living crisis in the UK, this fee is an additional barrier for families who want to support their loved ones overseas. This limits the flow of remittances from the UK - meaning that less money reaches those who need it the most.
In 2015, the UN introduced a Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) to reduce remittance costs to less than 3% by 2030. But there has been little progress made since then. If transfer fees were dropped to 3%, Save the Children UK estimates that $45.7 million could be saved in money transfers from the UK to Somalia, Ethiopia, Kenya and Yemen.
