Remittances

The New Cost of Sending Money Home

A US tax on cash transfers and a Nigerian settlement rule are not two stories. They are one shift in the same direction — the machinery of diaspora money is being re-engineered toward friction, and the levers you still control are funding method, timing, and channel.

Week in Review: A U.S. Court Reprieve, a New Caribbean Travel Door, and Africa's Pivot to Diaspora Capital

Across the TWB map this week, the throughline was movement - of people, of money, and of the rules that decide who gets to do either.

Money & Movement: Barbados

The diaspora guide to moving money in and out of Barbados — the fixed peg and exchange control, sending and receiving, banking, buying property, residency (SERP and Welcome Stamp), pensions, inheritance, and tax. A living reference, updated as the rules change.

Money & Movement: Bahamas

The diaspora guide to moving money in and out of The Bahamas — the 1:1 peg, sending and receiving, banking, buying property, residency (Economic Permanent Residence), pensions, inheritance, and the zero-tax reality. A living reference, updated as the rules change.

Money & Movement: Trinidad & Tobago

The diaspora guide to moving money in and out of Trinidad & Tobago — the USD shortage and forex access, the managed TT$, sending and receiving, banking, property and the Alien Landholding Licence, pensions and NIS, inheritance, and tax. A living reference, updated as the rules change.

Money & Movement: Kenya's remittances slip off a record — and the Gulf is the wild card

April inflows fell 5.9% from a year earlier, and a World Bank warning flags up to US$40m a month at risk from Middle East conflict.

Money & Movement: Jamaica

The diaspora guide to moving money in and out of Jamaica — remittance corridors and costs, the floating JMD, banking access, property and transfer tax, pensions and NIS, inheritance, and tax. A living reference, updated as the rules change.

Money & Movement: Guyana

The diaspora guide to moving money in and out of Guyana — remittance corridors and costs, banking access, the GYD and FX, property payments, pensions, inheritance, and tax. A living reference, updated as the rules change.

Opportunity: African capitals are courting diaspora money — and changing the pitch

Nigeria wants US$1bn a month in formal remittances. Ghana is steering diaspora funds toward investment, not just support.

Money & Movement: The new US 1% transfer tax — and the simple way around it

Since January, cash remittances out of the US carry a 1% federal tax. Digital and card-funded transfers do not.

The Diaspora Money Squeeze: Three Pressures Converging on One Wallet

A US transfer tax, a Nigerian settlement rule, and a pending World Court ruling are not three separate stories. They are one pressure pattern bearing down on how diaspora households move, hold, and protect money.

Week in Review: Warships and Wire Transfers — the Two Forces Pulling at the Diaspora

A US carrier returns to the Caribbean as three governments tighten their grip on diaspora money. If you read one TWB piece this weekend, read this.

Nigeria's naira-only remittance rule: four weeks in, the cracks are showing

Kenya's remittance recovery hinges on one thing: the Gulf

How the US remittance tax actually lands across the Caribbean

Ghana's cedi is up 40% — and that's a trap for diaspora senders

Nairobi Dispatch: Two Pressures Are Squeezing the Money Kenyans Abroad Send Home

Naija Lookbook: Money Sent Home Now Lands in Naira — No More Dollar Payout

The 1% Cash Tax Is Live. If You Still Hand Over Cash, You're Paying It.

The 1% cash remittance tax is live — and easy to avoid

*The U.S. federal excise tax on cash-funded international transfers has been live since January 1. Funding the same transfer from a bank account or card avoids it entirely.*

Nigeria orders remittance payouts in naira only

*The Central Bank of Nigeria's May 1 directive ends USD-cash payout at the counter. Recipient households now absorb the bureau-de-change spread on every transfer.*

Kenya's remittance corridor squeezed from two directions at once

*The U.S. cash-remittance tax and tightening Saudi labour conditions are pressing the two largest Kenya inbound corridors at the same time. The dollar value of remittances may hold while purchasing power drops.*

FX snapshot — May 27: JMD holds near 158, BOJ on standard intervention cadence

*Weekly anchor: Jamaican dollar quoted around J$157.90/US$1; BOJ ran a US$30 million B-FXITT sale on May 22. Diaspora corridors steady this week.*

This week's FX, the corridors that matter

Weekly Xe-sourced reference rates. Use these for context; always check Wise or your service for live executable quotes before sending.

This week's FX, the corridors that matter

Weekly Xe-sourced reference rates. Use these for context; check Wise or your service for live executable quotes before sending.

Egypt overtaking Nigeria changes the remittance map. Here is what that means for senders.

North Africa is now the dominant remittance corridor. Sub-Saharan corridors operate at different price points and different infrastructure.

Angola passes Kenya. Egypt passes Nigeria. The African economic rankings are shifting under the diaspora's feet.

New IMF data shows a different continent than the one diaspora investment narratives have assumed for the last decade. The countries to send money to are not the ones we have been talking about.

Your remittances now outpace foreign aid and foreign investment combined

Geneva, May 22. A new IOM paper reframes who is actually funding development in the regions we cover.

The remittance fee gap: where sending money home is cheap, and where it still isn't

Average cost to send money to Africa is still 8.2 percent. The UN target for 2030 is 3 percent. Corridor by corridor, the picture varies enormously.

Politico: Trump administration weighing military options against Cuba

Cuban-American remittance corridors enter their most volatile period since 1996.