Cost of Sending Remittances from the UK in the Aftermath of the Financial Crisis

Reducing cost of remittances is among the sustainable development goals and leading institutions and figures in the field advocate for cheaper transaction costs. Remittances remained resilient during the financial crisis overall and growth continues in the aftermath. In this paper, cost of sending remittances from the United Kingdom, a major remittances source country, to a selected group of 10 developing countries is examined to understand the trends in prices. Results show that overall, in selected countries there is a declining tendency, while in certain corridors and by certain operators, the prices of remittances did not decline as desired. Hence, possibly billions of remittances pounds did not reach to those in grave need.