Remittances to Jamaica over US$2 billion in 2011

(Jamaica Gleaner): On the back of record remittances in 2011 that narrowly edged out pre-recession highs, companies in the money services sector say they are expecting the pace of inflows to improve even further this year and are edging their bets through network expansion and new partnerships. Remittances rose to a new high of US$2.025 billion of inflows last year. The last time Jamaica hit that mark was in 2008 when inflows were recorded at US$2.021 billion. The improvement tracks with a rise in job prospects in the United States from where 58 per cent of total remittances to Jamaicans now flow. The other top markets are United Kingdom, 17 per cent; Canada, 11 per cent; and Cayman Islands, six per cent. Inside Jamaica, as the market heats up, so has the jockeying for business.

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Comments

Could there be confusion with wire transfers to conduct business?

Looks like Caymanians ought to consider actually taking  some of those jobs you import Jamaicans to do. Maybe they make more than you think.

Six percent of US$2.025 billion is US$121,500,000. That means that Jamaicans are sending more than US$10 million to Jamaica from Cayman each and every month.
There are around 7 thousand Jamaicans in Cayman on work permit. If we add another 3 thousand Caymanians of Jamaican heritage we can bring the total up to 10 thousand.
To reach the figure shown, each of those 10 thousand would have to on average send US$1,000 home each month. I do not think that figure is sustainable or even achievable in this economy.

... But there a lot more than 3000 Caymanians of Jamaican heritage and you are also ignoring the money "obtained" other than through salaries that gets returned to Jamaica through money transfer services.

I think we might be on the same wave length. I don't see 10,000 people sending money to Jamaica regularly, otherwise the lines at the money transfer places would be longer than the one at Popeye's for the full moon special. Therefore, the average is being skewed by VERY large transfers that must be coming from businesses. The question is, do some of the local business partners know that this money is leaving?

The reality is that even if it isn't drug money there is a large amount of very significant fronting going on with businesses really owned by Jamaican interests and not Caymanians. Funds cannot be moved through regular banking channels as it provides too much of a trail so cash is skimmed to minimize profits but permit foreign owners to get their money out.

That's 120million earned in cayman that went overseas, not spent in the local economy. If even half of that was paid to Caymanians, it would most likely be circulated and perhaps stay in the local Cayman economy - i know my business could use some of that right now.
 
And that's just Jamaica, think of the other nationalities that wire money overseas.

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