The Central Bank of Kenya (CBK) has launched a programme aimed at collecting information about international remittances received by households in Kenya.
Dubbed the Remittances Household Survey (RHS), the programme will see field personnel visit homes that have received remittances and collect information about the amounts they have received from friends and relatives abroad.
According to the CBK, remittances are defined as support received by Kenyan households from households outside the country.
The regulator revealed that the RHS will enable them to gather data on the sums received, how they are used, and any associated costs or challenges, with the aim of helping them to formulate policies that support remittance flows.
“The support is received in the form of money (cash) and /or in-kind (non-cash) without requiring the recipient to provide corresponding items of economic value (good or service),” the statement reads in part.
“Remittances also include support sent by households in Kenya to non-resident households outside Kenya.”
CBK said that it will also be collecting data from all international remittance service providers.
“CBK collects data on international remittances received through authorised international remittance service providers such as commercial banks, money transfer operators and mobile network operators,” a statement by the regulator said.
The survey will also collect this information through “informal channels and in-kind (non-cash) remittances.”
According to CBK, in 2024, Kenya had a total remittance of Ksh666.7 billion, 4 percent of the country’s GDP. In 2023, the figure was Ksh586 billion.
This is the first time the regulator is rolling out such a programme.
It is a partnership between the regulator and the Kenya National Bureau of Statistics (KNBS) and the Financial Sector Deepening Kenya (FSD Kenya).
