Migrant workers sent $650bn overseas last year – what it means

People living abroad are sending more money to their families at home, but what types of money transfer services are available and how do they work?

Mina Hamid*, who hails from Kabul, Afghanistan, and moved to the Netherlands at the age of 11, says she will never forget the first time she sent money to help her family members back home.

“I was in my late teenage years, and Afghanistan was reeling under the impact of natural disasters and conflicts, making it hard for my extended family members to afford basic necessities. So I began sending between 20 and 30 euros [$21 to $32] occasionally – money I earned from my student job – seeking to support them,” Hamid told Al Jazeera.

The 36-year-old, who now lives and works for the European Union in Belgium, continues transferring money every three months to her extended family members in Afghanistan.

“The man of the house works as a security guard and his wife is a teacher, but working conditions are hard and wages are low. Together, they earn around 200 to 300 euros [$217 to $325] a month. So the money I send covers their apartment’s rent, which is about 150 euros [$163] in Kabul and gives them the chance to spend their wages on food, clothes and other items their two children might need,” Hamid said.

Like Hamid, millions of migrants around the world engage in the practice of sending money or in-kind transfers known as remittances to their family members or communities in their countries of origin.

Remittances have grown substantially over the past two decades, rising from about $128bn in 2000 to $831bn in 2022, according to the World Bank.

In June, the World Bank reported that remittances to low and middle income countries alone reached an estimated $656bn last year and