High fees slash benefits of overseas remittances

CASH flows from the Asian overseas workers grew to almost US$260 billion in 2012, but high fees and limited financial services outside of urban areas are reducing the benefits of those remittances for millions of rural residents, the International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD) and the World Bank said on Tuesday.

IFAD and the World Bank, in their latest report, said remittances are equal more than 10 percent of gross domestic product in Afghanistan, Bangladesh, the Philippines, and Nepal, and more than 50 percent in Tajikistan.