Remittances from Finland to immigrants’ countries of origin increase
Hundreds of millions of euros sent abroad each year
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An African woman places 300 euros on the counter. Kaise Warsame, the Finnish representative of the money transfer company Dahabshiil, counts the cash and checks the woman’s personal information.
Her customer information is there on the basis of previous consignments. Everything is in order, and the cash can be sent.
After the push of a button, the woman’s stepfather in Somalia can collect the money. A fee charged by Dahabshiil is deducted from the sum, as well as fees involved when euros are exchanged to US dollars.
Usually the fee is about EUR 20. Warsame calculates the exchange rates according to quotations from the Bank of Finland. The actual size of the commission is a trade secret.
“We have about 2,500 money transfer events each month. Usually the customers transfer 200-300 euros at a time”, Warsame says.
Money transfer offices have spread around the world. For instance, Western Union has more than 410,000 representatives in about 200 countries.
Dahabshiil has offices in more than 140 countries, mainly in Africa and Asia.
“Customers in Finland are constantly increasing. About 90 per cent of our clients move cash to support their families abroad”, Warsame says.
Money transfers may come in handy in situations in which a Finn has been robbed during a trip abroad. The quickest way to get emergency cash in such a situation is for a friend in Finland to wire the money to a local office of a money transfer company.
The total amount of remittances from Finland is hard to estimate. Risto Lepistö, director of the Finnish operations of the currency exchange company Forex, estimates that about 300,000 cash transfers take place a year in Finland.
The World Bank reports that in 2008, remittances from Finland to developing countries amounted to about EUR 380 million.
Transferring money abroad is an easy process. The identity of the sender and the recipient is checked.
Some companies also have customer codes which are required when money is collected.
At Warsame’s office, telephones ring often. Usually callers are asking about the price of money transfers on a particular day.
“Following an enquiry, customers will transfer money directly from their online bank. Today, 70 per cent of remittances are made from home.”
Transferring very large sums of money involves closer scrutiny.
Transfer companies try to prevent the use of their services for money laundering through strict monitoring. Practices vary, however.
Elena Shalneva, head of communications for Western Union in Eurasia, says that the companies check the backgrounds of their customers if the transfer exceeds 7,500 US dollars, or about 6,100 euros.
Warsame says that customers at Dahabshiil need to explain transfers of just 1,000 dollars, or EUR 800.
Small sums are transferred to the other side of the world instantaneously, but larger transfers can take from a few hours, to days.
“The international system automatically requires additional information in cases of large transfers. In addition, the system has the positive side that it also contains the names of known criminals”, Warsame explains.
Helsingin Sanomat
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| 7.6.2010 - TODAY |
 Remittances from Finland to immigrants’ countries of origin increase
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