Migrant worker remittances to fall 20% amid virus: World Bank

Developing countries are losing a key source of revenue as the coronavirus pandemic causes worldwide shutdowns, sharply reducing payments from workers living abroad, the World Bank said Wednesday.

Remittances are expected to plunge by about 20 percent globally this year, the biggest decline in recent history, as closures cause a global recession and job losses that prevent workers from sending money to their families back home, the World Bank said in a report.

Total remittances, which comprise up to one-third of the economies of some poor countries, are expected to fall to $445 billion from $554 billion in 2019, the report said.