ArmenPress
March 24 2004

$544 MILLION TRANSFERRED BY ARMENIANS ABROAD IN 2003 TO RELATIVES

YEREVAN, MARCH 24, ARMENPRESS: The amount of cash sent home by
Armenians working abroad, the main source of income for thousands of
families, reached last year some $544 million, as much as Armenia’s
budget was, showing an $85 million growth over the previous year.
According to Armenia’s Central Bank, Russia accounts for most of
the remittances increasingly handled by local commercial banks. Some
$395 million were remitted from Russia, followed by the USA- almost
$60 million, Germany-$13.1 million and Switzerland-$10.2 million.
The amount of money transfers to USA from Armenia last year was
$63.5 million, to Russia-$56.7 million, $40 million were remitted to
the United Arab Emirates, $26 million to Turkey and $23 million to
Iran.
Commissions charged for such services have considerably dropped as
a result of growing competition among the local banks specializing in
the business.