Since the turn of the millennium, the expat population in Belgium has increased by about 46 percent to 220,000 in 2017, according to Skyline Europe, a property investment company in Brussels. The growth in the expat population in Belgium can be attributed to two major factors. First, the country’s capital, Brussels, being the major seat of the European Union, is one of the most politically important cities in the world. Second, given the country’s advanced transportation system, Belgium is also an important industrial and commercial base globally. With such statuses, it’s plausible to say the expat community in Belgium will continue to increase.
Typically, the growth of expats in any country results in an increased demand for remittance services. As proof, the migrant remittance outflow from Belgium grew from $1.843 billion in 2002, when the World Bank started reporting migrant remittance outflow from the country to $3.858 billion in 20161. That’s an increase of roughly 109 percent between 2002 and 2016. It’s worthy to note that the remittance outflow from Belgium had peaked at $4.556 billion in 2011 before the economic struggles in the region meant that migrant remittance outflow would tank for the proceeding three years. Still, the growth rate of remittance outflow from Belgium is significant.
Interestingly, with roughly $10 billion migrant remittance inflow in 2016, Belgium is also one of the biggest recipients of remittances worldwide. Only 12 countries received more remittances than Belgium worldwide in 2016, according to data provided by World Bank. Again, migrant remittance inflow to Belgium in 2002 was $4.674 billion. By translation, the number of Belgian expats is also increasing globally.
At Xpress Money, our main objectives are to make it more convenient and affordable for expats worldwide to send money back home to their loved ones. We’ve just made that ease, affordability and speed accessible to expats working in Belgium as well as Belgian expats working worldwide by setting up shop in Belgium via our partnership with Travelex, the global expert in foreign exchange and cross-border international payment solutions. The latest partnership means that Xpress Money now has 12 locations across Belgium including Charleroi and Zaventem airports stores.
What Does This Mean For Expats In Relationship With Belgium?
Low-cost money transfer: Xpress Money is known to be one of the most affordable remittance service providers. Our global average remittance fee of 2 percent is significantly lower than the global industry average of 7.09, as the World Bank found2. In addition, Xpress Money offers one of the most competitive exchange rates in the remittance industry. Check our currency calculator to find the current exchange rate to send money to or from Belgium.
Rapid Money Transfer: At Xpress Money, we understand that speed is important to expats worldwide especially considering that their loved ones are involved. That is why the speed of our money transfers is among the highest in the industry. Money sent through Xpress Money is usually available for pickup or credited to the recipient’s bank account within minutes.
Convenience: Xpress Money has 200,000 locations across 165 countries. With this, we’ve made it easy for anyone to gain access to our locations to send money easily.
References
2. https://remittanceprices.worldbank.org/sites/default/files/rpw_report_december2017.pdf
