Do you know that the 16th of June has been declared the INTERNATIONAL DAY OF FAMILY REMITTANCES by 176 governments in the world?
The first celebration took place last year at the GLOBAL FORUM ON REMITTANCES AND DEVELOPMENT, June 16-19 , 2015 in Milan, Italy as part of the World Expo. IMTC was part of the celebration where the international community recognized the work of the private sector in facilitating the sending of remittances, in developing cost-effective and accessible financial transfer services, and encouraged the industry to link these flows to a range of financial services and products for migrants and their families.
This day is important in order to capitalize on the potential of remittances to further help meet the economic, social and environmental challenges confronting developing countries.
Proclaiming an International Day of Family Remittances represents an invaluable opportunity not only to recognize the efforts of migrants globally, but also to strengthen current cross-industry partnerships and create new synergies among sectors to promote the development impact of remittances worldwide and join together to help reach the ultimate goal of making migration for future generations more of a choice than a necessity.
The number of international migrants — persons living in a country other than where they were born — reached 244 million in 2015 for the world as a whole, a 41% increase compared to 2000, including almost 20 million refugees. That is almost 3.5% of the world population (up from 2.8% in 2000) according to the United Nations.
In recent years, the remittance services industry, a key part of the financial ecosystem, has come under increasing pressure from “de-risking” and bank discontinuance by the international financial sector and negative connotations associated with migration.
June 16th must be a celebration of the hard work, sacrifice and generosity of international workers and the services that we as an industry provide, making remittances a reality for millions of migrants worldwide
Currently, there are almost 250 million international migrants worldwide living outside the country they call home. Throughout civilization, people have always been on the move, seeking better opportunities for themselves and their families – it is part of the human condition. But the scale of migration from rural to urban areas, and across national borders in the 21st century, is unprecedented. Indeed, it has been accurately characterized as “the human face of globalization”.
Happy International Day of Family Remittances
Join the INTERNATIONAL DAY OF FAMILY REMITTANCES PLEDGE
Download the PDF and get all your colleagues to sign it. Then, scan it and send it to us
