Moldovans send home in 2018 by $65 million more than in 2017

Chisinau, 25 January /MOLDPRES/ – The value of money transfers to individuals increased by 5.8 per cent in 2018 compared to 2017. According to data released today by the National Bank of Moldova (BNM), the individuals (resident and non – resident) received money from the Moldovan banks in the net amount equivalent to $1 billion 255.8 million.

The gross transfers amount to $1 billion 368 million. The BNM states that "individuals which transfer and receive money throughout the money remittance systems (SRB) may have the citizenship of any state. The origin and destination of the transferred money may be different. The data includes settlements with banks in Moldova, with no banks in the left bank of the Dniester river."

The fluctuations in the exchange rate of the original currencies against the US dollar (USD) as well as the actual increase in transfers (eliminating the effect of the exchange rate by recalculating the amounts during the same period of the previous year) contributed to the increase in transfers.

The data of BNM reveal a change in the structure of transfers, including by means of the rapid payment systems. Most of the gross transfers through money remittance systems, respectively 56.6 per cent of the total, was made in euros (EUR) in 2018 against 50.2 per cent in 2017. The share of USD in total transfers to individuals dropped from 22.9 per cent in 2017 to 17.2 per cent in 2018.

According to the BNS's information and media communication service, the money transfers abroad remain an important source for the household budget. On average, they accounted for 13.4 per cent of total revenues in the 3rd quarter of 2018, compared to 14.6 per cent in 2017. "The rural population compared to urban is more dependent on outsourcing of the country, their share being 19.9 per cent ​​compared to 7.2 per cent for the urban population," the statisticians found in the report on the incomes and expenditures of the population in the 3rd quarter of 2018.