How much of every $200 sent home is lost on the way?
On average, sending $200 abroad costs $12.72 in fees and exchange-rate margin, or 6.36% of the amount. The B4A Remittance Cost Index scores 90 money corridors, from the six Gulf countries, Europe, North America and Asia-Pacific to South Asia, the Philippines, Nigeria, Mexico, Egypt, Kenya and Ghana, from 0 to 100. Higher means cheaper and fairer for the family receiving the money.
Source: World Bank, Remittance Prices Worldwide, service-level dataset for Q3 2025 (latest release, published 2026). Scores and corridor averages are B4A calculations.
global average cost of sending $200, across all 348 corridors the World Bank tracks. The 2030 goal is 3%.
Kuwait to Pakistan, the lowest average cost of the 90 corridors in the index, about 70 cents on $200.
Gulf countries where any tracked service sends $200 to Bangladesh for 5% or less.
Information only, not financial advice. These are averages of the services the World Bank surveyed. Your own cost depends on the provider, the amount and the day you send. Always check the full cost, including the exchange rate, with your provider before you send. B4A does not recommend any provider and is not affiliated with the World Bank or any money transfer company.
Find your corridor
Choose where the money leaves and where it lands. Tap a row to open its corridor card.
| Rank | Corridor | Score | $200 cost | $500 cost | Services at or under 3% |
|---|
Five parts, one score from 0 to 100
Each part becomes a sub-score from 0 to 100 on a fixed scale, then the parts are weighted and added. Fixed scales mean scores can be compared from one edition to the next.
Cost of sending $200
Average cost across all tracked services. 100 at 1% or less, 0 at 12% or more.
Cost of sending $500
For larger, less frequent transfers. 100 at 0.5% or less, 0 at 8% or more.
Services at or under 3%
Share of tracked services already at the 2030 goal. Shows how much choice a sender has.
Cheapest three
Average of the three cheapest services. 100 at 0% or less, 0 at 8%. A simple B4A version of the World Bank “SmaRT” measure.
Bank premium
Banks’ average minus everyone else’s. 100 at no gap, 0 at 20 points. Left out where no bank is tracked, and the other weights re-balance.
Average cost of sending $200 from G20 countries
Germany and the UK are the cheapest G20 countries to send from. The axis starts at zero. The dashed line marks the 3% goal for 2030.
Source: World Bank, Remittance Prices Worldwide, Issue 54 (September 2025 report on Q3 2025 data), Table 3. G20 sending countries tracked by the World Bank, average total cost of sending $200, fees plus exchange-rate margin.
What these numbers do not show
- Your own price. These are averages of the services the World Bank surveyed in each corridor. One provider can be cheaper or dearer than the average.
- Informal channels. Only formal services are covered.
- Reasons. The data shows prices, not why one corridor costs more than another.
- Costs below zero. Some services quote a better exchange rate than the market rate, usually as a promotion, so their measured cost is below 0%.
- Small samples. Corridors with 6 or fewer tracked services are marked “few services”.
- Timing. The World Bank publishes about twice a year, months after collection. Q3 2025 is the latest release. Prices may have changed since.
- Corridor list. The index covers the corridors the World Bank tracks between the countries chosen for Edition 01, not every country pair.
From the World Bank file to this page
- We downloaded the World Bank’s service-level dataset (every surveyed service in every corridor, 2011 to Q3 2025) on 17 October 2026.
- Before scoring, we recalculated the World Bank’s own published averages from that file: global 6.36%, South Asia 5.30%, United Kingdom 4.61%, Germany 4.49%. They match the September 2025 report.
- We then calculated each corridor’s averages and score with the method above. Every score is a B4A calculation.
- AI helped us find and sort the figures. A person checks and approves the key figures and charts before a story is published.
Source: World Bank, Remittance Prices Worldwide, licensed under CC BY 4.0. Corridor averages, shares, the bank premium and all scores are B4A calculations. The World Bank does not endorse this page and is not responsible for our calculations. This page is information, not financial advice. B4A is not affiliated with the World Bank or with any money transfer provider. Data sources and disclaimer.
Questions people ask
What is the B4A Remittance Cost Index?
A ranking of money corridors, such as Kuwait to Pakistan or the UK to India, by how cheap and fair it is to send money along them. It is built from the World Bank’s survey of remittance prices and scored by B4A from 0 to 100.
Is this financial advice?
No. The index describes published average prices. It does not recommend any provider, product or way of sending money. Check the full cost with your provider before you send.
Why is the cost on some services below zero?
The cost is the fee plus the gap between the provider’s exchange rate and the market rate. When a provider offers a better rate than the market, often as a promotion, the measured cost comes out below zero.
How often is the index updated?
Each time the World Bank releases new data, currently about twice a year. Between editions, B4A publishes a Corridor Spotlight on one region or sender every quarter.
Can I reuse the data?
Yes. The World Bank data is licensed under CC BY 4.0. Our file adds B4A calculations, labelled as such. Please credit the World Bank as the source and B4A for the scores.
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