Peru was South America’s third biggest recipient of remittances in 2010, bringing in $2.53 billion, according to a report by the Inter-American Development Bank’s Multilateral Investment Fund (MIF)
Brazil was the main recipient of remittances in South America with $4.04 billion, followed by Colombia at $4.02 billion, state news agency Andina reported.
In fourth place was Ecuador at $2.32 billion, while Bolivia was next at $964 million, Argentina at $886 million, Chile at $820 million and Paraguay at $723 million.
Most individual remittances are smallish amounts, sent on a regular basis by family members working abroad. In Peru, banks have been seeking to attract an increasing number of new clients by offering credit and other services to remittance receivers, while at least one leading electrical appliance store chain offers credit and on-site remittance services such as Western Union.
Remittances sent to all of Latin America and the Caribbean in 2010 totaled $58.9 billion, which is up only 0.2 percent from the previous year.
In the Andean region, remittances fell 4.07 percent last year and in the whole of South America they declined 5.3 percent. This is due to a decrease in money sent from Spain and Japan, whose economies have not shown signs of recovery following the global financial crisis.
MIF is expecting remittances to increase this year as a result of better employment opportunities in the United States.
