A Recovery in Inward Remittances

The World Bank indicates that transfer costs to sub-Saharan Africa are among the most expensive in the world, at an average 9.1% of the transaction. These costs have spawned the emergence of digital transfer operators in competition with the traditional players in the field.    

Transfers through hawala and other informal systems are substantial, we assume. Yet if the bureaux de change and other intermediaries raise their game, and transaction costs decline, then we should see a shift towards formal channels. The latest annual total (of US$19.5bn in 2016) can surely be bettered when we allow for the size of the Nigerian diaspora, estimated at up to 18 million people.