India received $ 20 bln in remittances: Western Union

Dubai, Jan 31 (UNI) India received 20 billion dollars in remittances from workers in the six-nation Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) countries, an official of Western Union money transfer services said.

The total remittances of expatriate workers in GCC have touched 59 billion dollars in 2005, making for a huge 24 per cent of the remittances worldwide.

Saudi Arabia accounted for 29 per cent of the amount followed by the UAE and Kuwait.

The majority of the remittances went to Egypt, Lebanon and Jordan at 37 billion dollars, while Indians in the region sent 20 billion dollars home, the official said.

He said within 12-18 months, Western Union hopes to allow online money transfers through credit cards, a practice which it has already introduced in the US and Europe.

UNI