New analysis reveals the top five money transfer markets for UK residents that account for nearly one third of the total sent home

New analysis by Paysend, the UK based fintech, reveals that just five markets account for nearly one third of the total money transferred home from the UK.

Paysend analysed the latest data from the World Bank. It shows that foreign workers, international students and expats in the UK send money to more than 130 countries worldwide.

However, of the £24.2bn sent home in 2018, more than £10bn is sent to just five markets. The top 10 markets account for more than half of the total, receiving £13bn in total.

Rank Market Amount sent

1 India £3.04bn

2 Nigeria £2.97bn

3 France £1.63bn

4 Pakistan £1.44bn

5 China £1.14bn

6 Poland £1.13bn

7 Germany £990m

8 Spain £900m

9 Philippines £591m

10 Kenya £563m

Alberto Macciani, CMO of Paysend, said: “Moving money changes lives. We can see how a group of new internationalist workers, students and expats are driving the growth of money transfers in the UK. Often these transactions are life changing for those that send or receive them. Money transferred might go on education, healthcare, or to give families the ability to buy a home or start a business”.

“Rather than simply acting as a ‘hand out’, research shows that money sent back home creates independence and sustainability, for the recipient and their communities and especially for women it represents a vital source of independence and equality.”

Launched two years ago, Paysend’s card-to-card money transfer service, Global Transfers, already serves over 1.3m users worldwide.

The growth stems from the emergence of increasingly mobile segments of the work force and the continued growth of international students. These are people who live and work in one country while financially providing for, or relying on, others in another country.

Some 270m foreign workers will send $689bn back home this year, according to the World Bank. This figure is a landmark moment. Global money transfers have overtaken foreign direct investment as the biggest inflow of foreign capital into emerging economies.

Alberto Macciani continued: “Global Transfers enables our customers to move money in an instant. With fixed, transparent and low fees, more of our customers’ money is enjoyed by those they care about. We focus on making our key corridors more efficient, but at the same time we work to improve our geographic coverage to ensure we are building a true global outreach.

We’ve made what was once a laborious, slow and expensive process to pay, hold and spend money across borders now simple, quick and low cost. We will launch new services soon to make paying, holding and sending money globally even easier and cheaper.”