Photo: BBVA

XINHUA

Mexico received a record $51.594 billion in remittances in 2021, according to a report released Tuesday, Feb. 2, by the Central Bank of Mexico (Banxico).

The amount of money that Mexicans living abroad sent home to their families last year was 27.1 percent higher than the amount in 2020, when the country received $40.605  in remittances, Banxico data showed.

“During 2021, 98.9 percent of the total income from remittances was made through electronic transfers, reaching $51.045 billion” the report said.

In December alone, remittances totaled $4.76 billion, a year-on-year increase of 30.4 percent.

In a separate report, Mexico’s Banorte financial group said that despite last year’s boom in remittances, the outlook for this year could be less dynamic, given the signs of a weakening U.S. economy.

Among the factors weighing on the U.S. economy are the spreading coronavirus, which affects the confidence of consumers and companies, and inflationary pressures that are likely to last longer than expected, as well as the possibility of more severe winter weather, said Banorte.

The financial group estimated remittances in 2022 will reach $56.5 billion.

According to Mexican government figures, 38 million Mexicans live and work in the United States, and remittances have in recent years become a leading source of foreign revenue, along with tourism spending, oil exports and foreign direct investment.