The European Commission has welcomed a Joint Statement by EU and Ukrainian financial institutions to provide access to affordable, accessible and transparent remittance services to Ukraine.
Remittances from Ukrainians in the EU are a vital way of providing means of subsistence to their families and relatives at home. In the face of the growing humanitarian crisis triggered by Russian’s unprovoked aggression against Ukraine, lowering the costs of remittances could result in big savings for Ukrainians and their families. It could also help to scale up aid to the people of Ukraine.
With today’s Joint Statement, signatories commit to:
• Affordable remittances: voluntarily lowering total fees and converging towards the 3% target in the Sustainable Development Goals and G20 Roadmap on cross border payments;
• Transparent remittances: disclosing total fees, including transfer fees and foreign exchange margin;
• Accessible remittances: seekingto maintain the accessibility of remittance services through a network of agents and the development of digital services.
MaireadMcGuinness, Commissioner for Financial Stability, Financial Services and the Capital Markets Union, said: “Finding practical solutions to help Ukrainians living abroad, many forced to flee as a consequence of the war, to send remittances to their loved ones at home is a very concrete example of our solidarity. I welcome that EU and Ukrainian companies active in remittances have come together to achieve this objective.”
Today’s Joint Statement follows a roundtable meeting facilitated by the Commission and the National Bank of Ukraine with EU and Ukrainian remittance service providers, with participation of the World Bank. The Joint Statement applies for 9 months as of today. It will then be reviewed to take into account the fast-changing situation.
SOURCE: EU Neighbours East
