The World Bank recognized money transfers from Russia as the most profitable

The cost of transactions from the country in 2020 decreased from 2.1% to 1%. Transfers from RUSSIA to Georgia were recognized as the cheapest.

Money transfers from Russia abroad remain the most profitable in the world. This is evidenced by the data of the World Bank, which prepared a report on migration and development (available from RBC).

In 2020, the cost of transferring money from Russia fell from 2.1% to 1%. This is the lowest value not only for Europe and Central Asia (6.4% on average), but also for the world as a whole. Transactions from Russia to Georgia are named the cheapest.

At the same time, the volume of transfers from the country in DOLLAR terms decreased significantly last year. The reasons were the depreciation of the ruble, low oil prices and the pandemic, which worsened the situation of migrants. This trend is typical for the entire European and Central Asian region, where the volume of transfers fell by 9.7%, to $56 billion.

Experts estimated at 1.5% the share of money transfers of Russians through the Central Bank system

However, the fall in the pandemic year was not a record compared to other crises: in 2009, the volume of remittances decreased by 11%, and in 2015 by 15%. World Bank analysts expect remittances here to fall another 3.2% in 2021 due to a slow recovery from the CORONAVIRUS crisis.