Moldovans send home less money in January 2019 than in same period of previous year

Chisinau, 25 February /MOLDPRES/ - The value of money transfers to private people dropped by 8.7 per cent in January 2019 against the same period of the last year. Private persons (resident and non-resident) received financial means in a net sum equivalent to 85.99 million dollars in the first month of this year, according to data by the National Bank of Moldova (BNM), made public today.  

BNM data shows that 42.8 per cent of the transfers were made from European Union countries, 21 per cent - from the countries of the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS), and respectively 36.2 per cent - from the rest of the world. For the first time ever, most money came from Israel, respectively 19.60 million dollars, followed by Russia with 17.17 million dollars of all transfers, down by 33.1 per cent against the last year. Italy ranks third, with a share of transfers of 13.5 per cent (11.59 million dollars), followed by the USA – 8.3 per cent, Germany – 6.5 per cent, United Kingdom – 5.4 per cent.    

The National Bank said that, in January 2019, the fluctuations of the exchange rate of the currencies against the U.S. dollar contributed 3.9 percentage points to the overall decrease in the value of transfers from abroad to private people, against the same period of the year before. Yet, in reality, (with the removal of the effect of the exchange rate through the recalculation of the sums at the exchange rate of the concerned period of the last year) a 4.8 per cent diminution of transfers was recorded.  

BNM’s data shows a change of the structure of transfers, including through quick payments systems. Most gross transfers through the money transfers systems, respectively 61.9 per cent of all payments, in January 2019 were made in euros, against 54.7 per cent in the year before. The share of the dollar of all transfers sent to private people dropped to 16.1 per cent in the first month of this year, from 20.9 per cent on the same period of 2018. The Russian rouble had a share of 4.5 per cent.

The value of money transfers made to private people in 2018 grew by 5.8 per cent against the year before. Private persons (resident and non-resident) last year received financial means in the net sum equivalent to 1 billion 255.8 million dollars through banks from Moldova.