Inward foreign remittance from non-resident Bhutanese increased significantly in 2020 despite the COVID-19 pandemic affecting the global economy badly. Non-resident Bhutanese remitted a total of Nu 8.27 billion (B) from January to December last year, according to the Royal Monetary Authority’s (RMA) monthly statistical bulletin for March 2021.

The remittance from non-resident Bhutanese in 2019 was Nu 2.679B, indicating that the remittance increased by 208 percent last year, according to Kuensel newspaper.

Remittance inflow helps in building foreign exchange reserves. 

Of the total inward remittance received through formal channels, about 80 percent was from Australia.  The remittance from the US and the Middle East constituted about 10 percent and 2.5 percent respectively, officials said.

The Bhutanese government in September 2016 launched RemitBhutan, a platform to facilitate non-resident Bhutanese for non-face-to-face foreign currency account opening with an authorized bank in Bhutan.

The appreciation of the US dollar against the ngultrum is one of the reasons for the significant increase in inward remittance.  A stronger dollar bodes well for the recipients through conversion into the ngultrum.

The South Asia region has been the biggest beneficiary of remittance in the world, according to the RMA’s annual report 2019.  However, it states Bhutan has lagged behind in capitalising the benefits, although inward remittance is considered a stable and reliable source of non-debt financing source for a country.