Sending money to family members in your home country is something many UAE residents do on a regular basis. But as the world struggles with the effects of Covid-19 and some people lose jobs or experience a salary cut, actually having the money to transfer is an issue in itself. A recent study<a href="https://www.thenational.ae/business/money/global-remittances-set-to-drop-by-20-30-in-2020-1.1028852"> from the Institute of International Finance </a>found that global remittances may fall as much as 30 per cent this year as the coronavirus-induced recession affects countries worldwide. The forecast echoes a similar <a href="https://www.thenational.ae/business/money/global-remittances-to-fall-by-20-this-year-due-to-covid-19-crisis-1.1009719">outlook from the World Bank</a>, which said in April that it expects remittances to low and middle-income countries to fall by about 20 per cent in 2020, with only a moderate recovery next year. With so many of us now focused on keeping costs down, what is the best way to transfer money from the UAE? How do you compare the options available? And how do you negotiate the best rates? Host Alice Haine, the personal finance editor at <i>The National</i>, is joined by Jean Claude Farah, the president of Western Union's Global Network.
