According to new research by the Inter-American Dialogue, in 2018 family remittances to Latin America and the Caribbean grew by over ten percent, reaching US$85 billion. The growth in remittances stands in stark contrast to the region’s sluggish economic growth rate, less than two percent.

Haiti, Colombia, Guatemala and Mexico are among the countries with the highest levels of remittance growth for 2018. Factors driving growth vary by country and include increases in the size of the average remittance, new migration flows to the United States, and rising intra-regional migration mostly related to political instability. At the same time, the ways that people are sending money are evolving as the marketplace for money transfers becomes increasingly competitive and digitalized.

To discuss these trends, the Dialogue is pleased to host a panel discussion on Thursday, April 4th from 12:00 – 2:00 pm featuring Manuel Orozco, Director of the Dialogue’s Migration, Remittances and Development Program, Gene Nigro, Vice President of Global Business Development at Remitly, Akinyi Ochieng, Corporate Communications Manager at WorldRemit, and Usman Ahmed, Head of Global Public Policy at PayPal. The panel will be moderated by Laura Porras, Associate with the Dialogue’s Migration, Remittance and Development Program. The discussion will focus on 2018 remittance flows, the outlook for 2019, and specific country case studies.

This event is part of the Inter-American Dialogue’s Remittance Industry Observatory, an initiative that seeks to share information and analysis about the remittance market.

Follow this event on Twitter at #Remittances2018, @The_Dialogue and @RemittancesIAD 

A light lunch will be served at the event.

Speakers:

Manuel Orozco

Director of the Migration, Remittances and Development Program, Inter-American Dialogue (@Manuelorozco65)

Gene Nigro

Vice President of Global Business Development, Remitly (@Remitly)

Akinyi Ochieng

Corporate Communications Manager, WorldRemit (@Kikiochieng)

Usman Ahmed

Head of Global Public Policy, PayPal (@PayPal_Policy)

Moderator:

Laura Porras

Associate, Inter-American Dialogue (@Lporrasal)