Kenyans abroad sent home Sh700 million more in February this year compared to the same period in 2013.
The remittances rose by 8 per cent to Sh9.6 billion ($110.42 million) from Sh8.9 billion ($102.4 million) in February last year, with the Central Bank of Kenya (CBK) saying the inflows remained resilient despite month-on-month slowdown from North America.
“Remittances inflows from all regions remained resilient, with North America accounting for 48.6 per cent of total inflows amounting to $54.6 million (Sh4.7 billion) in February 2014,” the regulator said.
Inflows from Europe accounted for 27.7 per cent and increased marginally to Sh2.6 billion ($29.9 million), while inflows from the rest of the world amounted to Sh2.2 billion ($25.9 million). The 12 month cumulative remittance inflows also increased by 10.5 per cent to Sh112.5 billion ($1.3 billion) in February this year from Sh103.8 billion ($1.2 billion) in February 2013, CBK said on Friday.
The regulator conducts surveys on remittance inflows each month through formal channels, which include commercial banks and other authorised international remittances service providers in Kenya.
This does not take into account cash sent through informal channels that have increased due to global challenges of money laundering and terrorism financing.
This has been a major concern to the government, which does not know exactly how much is actually sent home through all the possible of remittance channels.
