Beirut, Lebanon – 2022: One major lesson learnt from the outbreak of the Covid-19 pandemic was the need to strengthen our individual and collective resilience to withstand shocks. While many factors can drive this resilience, diaspora remittances remain a significant driver. Funds received make considerable contributions to households, businesses and the economy.
According to the World Bank, among economies where remittance inflows stand at very high shares of GDP is Lebanon at 54%.1 Lebanon received $6.61 billion USD in personal remittances in 2021 compared to $6.2 billion USD in 2020.2
As more Lebanese continue to migrate, we expect diaspora remittances to remain a significant contributor to the economy. The current net migration rate for Lebanon in 2022 is -20.553 per 1000 population; a 24.28% increase from 2021.3 Migrants will continue to require digital global payment platforms to send money back home to sustain growth.
WorldRemit’s digital international money transfer service has been in operation since 2009 and serves 150 countries, providing a seamless channel through which migrants can send money back home. The digital platform is fast, easy and convenient to use, with almost 6 million users trusting it. Here are the top five reasons why:
Digital money transfer platforms
The ability to send money to family and friends back at home via digital channels is becoming increasingly important, primarily driven by Covid-19 stay-at-home measures. This has led to a “new normal” that has seen more people favouring digital platforms. Research and Markets[1] have predicted that the global digital remittance market growth could reach USD 42.46 billion by 2028. Additionally, convenience, ease of use, and speed have been a game-changer for digital remittance channels.
WorldRemit is fully digital, eliminating the need for customers to travel long distances only to face long processing times to send money, while also avoiding delays for recipients. It is as simple as owning a laptop or a mobile phone, opening an account on our website or app and following a few steps for funds to be delivered almost instantly to recipients.
Consumer privacy and data protection
When customers send money, they want to know that their funds will reach recipients without any incident. As a major player in the digital financial services ecosystem, consumer data privacy and protection is of utmost importance at WorldRemit. If customers’ data gets into the wrong groups’ hands, it could lead to significant financial losses. Hence WorldRemit has taken major steps to ensure that private information in its database stays private. Connections through the website and mobile app are fully encrypted to guard against any third-party interception; customers can transact through our platforms without worry. We also adopt 3D technology for extra safety assurance, meaning that only customers and card issuers can view personal bank information provided. Our compliance and data security team constantly monitors the system to identify potential breaches before they occur.
Extensive reach, agile and regulatory compliant
We enable sending from 50 countries to 130 countries worldwide with a significant footprint in Africa, providing support to our customers when they choose to move to any country within our coverage area. Our partnerships with various local banks allow us to offer a wide variety of options to our customers when it comes to ways in which they can receive their funds quickly and safely.
We have 140 Cash Plus outlets across Lebanon where recipients can collect their funds in cash.
Additionally, we remain accountable to relevant local regulatory requirements and are continually engaging the regulators and appropriate stakeholders to position us to continue delivering quality services while respecting required regulations. We are agile, enabling us to respond and quickly adapt to changing environments and directives.
Serving the unbanked
The current economic crisis in Lebanon has paralyzed the banking system, leaving citizens unable to access their money from their bank accounts.4 We understand that recipients have varying money needs and financial access levels. Hence, we have provided another way for customers to receive funds at our cash pick-up services, thanks to our partnership with Cash Plus. This ensures that the unbanked Lebanese can access the benefits of diaspora remittances.
Fast, easy to use and transparent
When funds are sent through our digital remittance platform, they are accessible in only a matter of minutes, and in most cases, this happens instantly. Our exchange rates and fees are transparent; customers can see how much they will be charged before authorizing any transfers. Our mobile app and web platform is straightforward and easy to use. After verifying your account and following simple registration steps, you can transfer funds immediately. If our customers run into any issues, our 24 hours customer care service is available to solve any queries.
Sources:
- The World Bank. Remittances to Reach $630 billion in 2022 with Record Flows into Ukraine. May 2022
- Al Hurra. “Millions of arrivals and billions of dollars”… Lebanon “catches its breath” during the tourist season. Al Hurra. June 2022. (Arabic)
- Macrotrends. Lebanon Net Migration Rate 1950-2022.
- The New Arab. Lebanon erupts in protest over ‘capital controls’ law, set to ‘benefit the elite’. 2022
About WorldRemit
We’re a leading global payments company and, along with Sendwave, part of Zepz, a group powering two global payments brands.
We disrupted an industry previously dominated by offline legacy players by taking international money transfers online – making them safer, faster and lower-cost. We currently send from 50 countries to recipients in 130 countries, operate in more than 5,000 money transfer corridors worldwide and employ over 1,200 people globally.
On the sending side WorldRemit is 100% digital (cashless), increasing convenience and enhancing security. For those receiving money, the company offers a wide range of options including bank deposit, cash collection, mobile airtime top-up and mobile money.
Backed by Accel, TCV and Leapfrog – WorldRemit’s headquarters are in London, United Kingdom with regional offices around the globe.