INFOGRAPHIC : Africans abroad paying more to send money home

This week's infographic comes from the Overseas Development Institute (ODI) that accompanies the launch of their report on the effect of transfer fees on the levels of remittances to Africa.

According to ODI, these excessive fees cost the African continent $1.8 billion a year; enough money to pay for the primary school education of 14 million children in the region.

This is because workers are paying an average of 12% in fees to transfer money back to relatives in sub-Saharan Africa. To put that in context, a worker sending $200 home to provide for a relative’s education would incur a $25 fee.
 

The global community pledged to cut remittance charges to 5% by 2014, yet this ‘super tax’ shows there is a long way to go.

Our report urges governments to increase competition in money transfer remittances and to establish greater transparency on how fees are set by all market operators.