Ukrainians are reducing money transfers to the country from abroad

Ukrainians are sending fewer remittances back home, as indicated by a recent report from the National Bank of Ukraine (NBU).

The regulator reported that in August of this year, the total amount of remittances from Ukrainian citizens decreased by another 15.9% (to $791 million), and for the period from January to August 2024, it dropped by 14.3% (to $6.5 billion).

Official NBU statistics from the past five years show that the peak of remittances to Ukraine was reached in the pre-war year of 2021, after which the amounts sent began to decline:

• In 2019, Ukraine received $11.92 billion;
• In 2020 — $11.98 billion;
• In 2021 — $14.0 billion;
• In 2022 — $12.5 billion;
• In 2023 — $11.3 billion.

Experts attribute this decline, which accelerated after the start of the war in Ukraine, largely to the mass departure of refugees and their adaptation abroad. Many people who worked abroad before the war brought their families to safe countries after the invasion, leaving them with no one to send money to. This trend is worsening month by month, especially as the current heating season approaches, which authorities warn could be the most challenging for the population since the war began. As a result, the total amount of remittances to Ukraine in 2024 is expected to be less than the $11.3 billion recorded in 2023.

“I expect private remittances to fall to $9.6 billion,” predicted financial analyst Andriy Shevchyshyn.

Bankers also report that not only are Ukrainians sending fewer remittances, but they are also increasingly leaving the Ukrainian banking system.

“Previously, we saw that people who had left the country after the war began and were using their cards abroad started cutting their expenses, likely to save money. Later, they contacted the bank to close their accounts, and in conversations with our managers, when offered new packages and better terms, refugees explained that they no longer needed their Ukrainian accounts. Many opened accounts in Western banks, having quit jobs in Ukraine that used to pay their salaries in hryvnia, and found new employment abroad. There’s no point in preparing bank statements from Ukrainian banks, which local social services require for benefits, and there’s no reason to keep these accounts — no more money is coming in. So it’s easier for them to say goodbye to our bank and sever ties with the Ukrainian economy altogether. We’re receiving more and more of such explanations,” said a representative of one of the country’s major banks.

In the summer, the NBU forecasted that about 700,000 more people would leave Ukraine by the end of this year and next.