REMITTANCES, a major source of foreign exchange for the country, (US$1,204.5 million last year) remains unscathed despite the 12-day-old war that is being waged in the Middle East.
Many people were worried that a protracted war could result in the inability of relatives abroad to send money home, but so far, nearly all money transfer agencies are reporting that the steady inflow of cash has not stopped.
Joan-Marie Powell, executive director of payment services, Grace, Kennedy Remittances Services Limited said, "It (the war) is not affecting us negatively. Remittance is just as usual and right now it is a case of wait and see."
She added that Jamaicans are resilient and they will still support their relatives and friends here even as the war continues. Grace, Kennedy is the agent for Western Union in Jamaica.
There were similiar responses elsewhere. Keisha Brown, operations supervisor at Paymaster Jamaica Limited, told The Sunday Gleaner that "From our standpoint, we are not seeing where there is any changes in the rate at which the transfers are coming in."
Paymaster pays out cash remittance on behalf of agents such as, Moneygram, Rapid Remittance and Money Express (Cayman Island). Sonia Riddock, Manager of Rapid Remittance, pointed out that this time of the year is generally slow but added that she is doing the same amount of business when compared with the corresponding period last year.
Users of the remittance services suported the claims of the agencies.
Donnette Campbell, 26, collects money from her aunt who lives in the United States every two weeks. This is her only source of income and despite the war she was still able to collect the cash sent by her aunt.
However, her aunt is seeing the warning signs. Ms. Campbell said that her aunt who takes care of elderly persons is already seeing a decline in the number of requests she receives for her service. Remittances provide much needed income for many of the country's unemployed who depend upon the largesse of overseas relatives to get by.
