70% of money trasferred by migrant workers are spent on bare necessities. Only 3% are invested in business

25 April, at the Uzhgorod Press Club there was the first meeting of the Finance Club. Representatives of the media learned about the nuances of money transfers and their economic importance for the Western Ukraine.

Thus, according to the National Bank, in 2012, 4.297 billion U.S. dollars were transferred to Ukraine by international money transfer systems, which is 36.2% more than that in the last year. In addition, 21.568 billion hryvnias and 12 billion U.S. dollars were transferred within Ukraine. This indicates the presence of a stable demand for this banking service among the Ukrainians.

"According to statistics from the International Organization for Migration in Ukraine, more than 70% of international remittances are spent by migrant workers’ families, as they say, for living, 26% – for the purchase of consumer goods, and only 3% – to start their own business" – Maya Vynnychenko, the head of Uzhgorod branch of the "Pivdenny" Stock Bank says.

Major players in the market of remittances are Western Union, Unistream, MoneyGram, Migom and Contact. The share of these five companies accounts for about 75% of international money transfers. In total, in Ukraine there are 23 companies providing money transfer services.