Central Banks across LAC are committing to improving the quality and availability of remittance data. This is a response from policy makers, regulators, and industry for Central Banks to provide better quality remittance data at a more disaggregated level.

RemitSCOPE compiles and shows remittance inflow and outflow data published by Central Banks, broken down at a corridor level. There are currently  eleven countries in LAC that are publishing remittance data broken down by corridor; these are Bolivia, Brazil, Colombia, Dominican Republic, Ecuador, El Salvador, Jamaica, Mexico, Nicaragua, Panama and Paraguay.

As Central Banks provide remittance inflow and outflow data broken down by the type of institution sending the payment or channel received, RemitSCOPE, as the home to remittances data, will publish this information through additional dashboards and market insights.

Explore the Central Banks’ remittances data by corridor on the Remittance Dashboard.

The Importance of Remittances Index is one of five snapshot indexes shown on RemitSCOPE LAC. The Importance of Remittances Index a composite index that shows countries in LAC where remittances count the most; either due to household dependency, large flows or economic dependency.

The Index shows that remittances are most important to countries in Central America, where the average score is 75 out of 100, compared with the overall LAC score of 63.  The Caribbean countries and Mexico score 66 and 64 respectively. Remittances are found to be less important to countries in South America, which on average scores 43 out of 100.

On average remittances account for 21.2 % of their GDP in Central America, while for South American countries remittances, on average, represent only 2.2% of GDP.

Explore the Indexes Dashboard through the Snapshot Indexes.

According to World Bank survey data, the average cost of sending remittances to LAC has fallen from 6.1% of the send amount in Q2 2016 to 5.9% in Q1 2025, an decrease of 0.3 percentage points. At this rate of progress, LAC may not be on track to meet SDG 10.c which states that remittance prices will not average more than 3 percent by 2030 and that no single corridor will be more than 5%.

The prices for sending to and within LAC vary significantly depending on the region and channel used. In Q1 2025 it cost 6.4% per cent to send to Southern America compared to 4.8% per cent to send to Central America and 7.1 % in the Caribbean.

Explore the Remittance Pricing Dashboard to learn more about remittance costs into and out of LAC by country and at a corridor level.

Mexico is a net inbound remittance market, receiving just over US$63.3 billion in 2024. This means it is the largest receiver of remittances in LAC, with the United States as the main sending market. Remittances account for nearly 4 per cent of gross domestic product (GDP). Remittance outflows were US$1.08 million in 2023.

The Central Bank of Mexico (Banxico) is taking a leading role on the continent and currently collects and publishes total remittance inflow data in US$ on a monthly basis, broken down by corridor. Banxico carries out and publishes the results of several Migration and Remittance Surveys. Survey results have been used to compile the Mexican RemitSCOPE Country Profile.  

In Mexico, mobile money providers, such as Bankaya, Mercado Pago and Spin are paying out remittances. Mobile to mobile remittance services are found to be significantly cheaper than average money transfer services to Mexico. With only half of the adult population finally included, there are opportunities to drive financial inclusion through mobile and digital remittance services. 

In 2024, according to central banks’ data, nearly $166 billion flowed into Latin America and the Caribbean (LAC) in remittances which is approximately 90% the level of official development assistance. Remittances provide a lifeline for many families and countries, especially in rural areas where they can make the biggest difference. Within LAC, 11 of the 32 countries are dependent on remittances for at least 4 percent of their GDP.

Remittance inflows continue to grow (4.3% Compound Annual Growth Rate (CAGR) in the 3 years to 2024) despite global headwinds. This is not unusual as remittances are often counter-cyclical and increase during difficult events globally or locally.  In 2024, remittance flows were larger than FDI flows.

Explore the Remittances Dashboard to learn more about remittance inflows and outflows into LAC by country and at a corridor level.