Nigeria’s international remittance market will peak at $42 billion by 2022, a new report released by global research agency, Ken Research, has said. The researchers said the relaxation of regulations for outflow of remittance from Nigeria to other countries would present a great opportunity for money transfer organisations (MTOs) as the international outbound remittance is likely to grow robustly in the coming years.
According to the report titled: “Nigeria Remittance and Bill Payments Market Outlook by Inbound and Outbound International Remittance Outlook to 2022,” the transfer of funds through electronic means is expected to reach 89.0 per cent followed by cash transfers that shall account for a share of 11 per cent.
Ken Research is a global aggregator and publisher of market intelligence research reports, equity reports, data base directories and economy reports. Its market research reports provides market sizing analysis, insights on promising industry segments, competition, future outlook and growth drivers in the space. The company is engaged in data analytics and aids clients in due-diligence, product expansion, plant setup, acquisition intelligence to all the other gamut of objectives through our research focus.
The report further hinted that the use of Bitcoins to remit money in Nigeria was also very likely to gain popularity in the near future, adding that the rising number of households and growing infrastructural development in the country would drive the market of Nigeria bill payment industry with the market forecasted to reach $146 billion by 2019. “In Nigeria, international remittance is a critical source of income for the people and has changed their standard of living to a great extent. Remittance inflow from other countries into Nigeria has resulted in development of the country in many ways,” the study added.
“Each year, Nigerian migrants working overseas send billions of dollars back home to support their families. Maximum number of Nigerian migrates to developed countries such as the United States, the United Kingdom, Spain, Italy and other European and African countries. In terms of transaction volume also, maximum remittance is received from the U.S. and the UK followed by other European countries. “Nigeria receives about 67.0 per cent of the total remittance received in the sub-Saharan Africa Region.
The growth of the remittance industry in the country has been majorly driven by the large number of Nigerian diaspora who have migrated overseas in search of higher paying job opportunities. The number of Nigerian migrants in 1990 was 465,932 and it has grown over the years. In 2013, the Nigerians living outside their country were 1,030,322 that are more than double the number in 1990,” the research firm noted. It pointed out that international remittance in Nigeria is largely dominated by the remittance inflow from other counties. Inflow of remittance from other countries has contributed a share of 95 per cent in the overall revenues of the industry in 2016.
According to the research, “the rising population of Nigerian migrants in the U.S. and UK has surged the transaction volume of remittance from these countries to Nigeria. The U.S.-Nigeria and the UK-Nigeria remittance corridor are equally dominated by the informal remittance channels. The remittance flows to Nigeria from these corridors is also underreported because the Nigerian government still lacks proper infrastructure and mechanism for data collection.
The major players in the Nigeria international remittance market include banks and non-bank institutions that include MTOs and transfer through family and friends. Some of the major banks in the market include Guaranty Trust Bank, Ecobank, Fidelity Bank and others.
“In terms of MTOs, the industry till now was concentrated with only a few major companies such as Western Union, MoneyGram, World Remit and RIA dominating the industry,” it noted.
Source; newtelegraphonline.com
