Samoa money transfer agents feeling the pressure

Merita Huch




Within a period of one month, an additional 1.9 million (Samoan Tala) was added to the remittances paid out to Samoans in May.
It’s an increase of eight percent from the previous month of April and a continuous sign of the commitment by Samoans living and earning overseas to send money to relatives back home.
New Zealand continues to be the biggest giver when it comes to remittances.
Most of the Samoans immigrating have settled and worked in New Zealand.
In May alone, a total of 25.7 million tala was sent to Samoa —10.3 million tala was received from New Zealand and the remaining15.4 million tala came from relatives in Australia, American Samoa, Hawaii and the United States of America.
According to figures provided by the Central Bank of Samoa, more than $300 million tala was sent from relatives overseas to the islands last year and the bank expects this amount to increase by another 40-50 million tala by the end of July.
These ties with family have proven crucial at a time when most economies are suffering from the global economic downturn.
Aside from the growing tourism industry – remittances have always been the backbone of the country’s economy. Agriculture which once held this esteem ranking in the development of Samoa is now undergoing much work to improve.
Samoans have always relied on families for development and it clearly shows in the money that continues to pour into the islands.
Despite the hardship faced by many of Pacific islanders living and working overseas, family obligations play a major part in the faa-Samoa, resulting in many relying on children and grandchildren to continue with the tradition of caring for those living in the islands.
Not all families are so lucky but there’s certainly an increase in the number of families in Samoa receiving this type of assistance.
Since the introduction of the seasonal working scheme, church and village groups have flocked to New Zealand in numbers to pick fruits and vegetables and send money home. But this is expected to drop in the coming months as New Zealand progresses into the winter season.
There is another change this year. Remittances which had poured into Samoa from relatives living and working in neighbouring American Samoa are expected to decline.
The majority of the Samoa Packing workforce in American Samoa are from Samoa and most have returned home after the tuna canning company closed down and returned to the United States.
Many of the more than 1000 workers are now returning to Samoa after their work permits expired.
There are now plans for yet another major tuna canning company, StarKist, to move out of American Samoa.
The stress over increase in minimum wage as demanded by the United States of America on its territories and States have now taken its toll on these major companies, opting to look elsewhere where the minimum wage would be much smaller than that demanded by the US for the workforces within its states and territories.
Several families who have lived for decades in American Samoa have now returned after working in American Samoa.
 It’s predicted that with such a big number of Samoan workers who have now returned home looking for work, that portion of the remittances which once saw the neighbouring territory highly placed in the list of countries contributing to Samoa’s development through this assistance will dwindle.
In the meantime, some international money transfer companies in Apia are having difficulties trying to keep up with the demand from overseas for relatives at home. The transfers take some time to reach the local agents and while awaiting money sent from relatives overseas, the local agents are left trying to meet such a demand in available cash and that has been difficult for some of these companies.
Whatever the drive behind the increase in remittances, it’s a form of assistance Samoans have heavily relied upon for decades.