Remittances to and within Africa will reach about US$80 billion in 2020, according to the International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD).
The steady migration of Africans within the continent as well as to Europe will be a driving force of this phenomenon. About 45 million African migrants live outside their native country.
Added to this are another nearly 15 million refugees who left their home countries in Africa, fleeing to other places both in and outside Africa.
More than 200 million people benefit from remittances by family members. About 40 per cent live in rural communities where few opportunities exist to earn cash.
Remittances now account for a substantial amount of the GNP of some countries. More than 25 per cent for Liberia and 7 per cent for Egypt.
The amount countries receive can be substantial. Egypt and Nigeria draw about $20bn a year. IFAD research notes, however, that there is a wide discrepancy between what some countries receive – a mere 13 countries out of the 54 that make up Africa draw in 90 per cent of the remittances.
Although a growing variety of electronic options exist, from bank transfers to mobile phone banking, most migrants prefer to send cash. Almost 95 per cent is moved this way, says IFAD.
Only 30 per cent of African adults have a formal bank account, the rest relying mostly on cash. A growth area in this regard is post office banking and development agencies hope to increase this in the future.
At least 60 million adult Africans hold accounts for savings or payments via postal networks and 100 million adults use post offices to access one or more financial services.
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