The 30-year-old has been able to check that the roof was repaired and that crops are growing tangible proof that the money he sent home had reached his family safely. Sending money was the simplest way for me to feel connected to my family, Park says, adding that he worries that without it, his brother might be drafted and sent to fight in Russia because his family will not have enough to pay bribes to get fake medical certificates so as to be exempt.
Khalid Ashmawy remembers the first time he wired money home while studying in Europe. He had just received his monthly stipend as a master's student in Stuttgart and wanted to send part of it back to his family in Cairo. It was usually a slow and expensive process, he recalled. A $400 wire transfer, for instance, could cost $40 in fees and take three business days to arrive.
Inward remittances to India rose significantly, escalating from $55.6 billion in 2010-11 to an expected $160 billion by 2029, demonstrating the growing financial dynamics within the diaspora.