Mexican migrants sent home a record $40 billion in 2020

Money sent home by Mexican migrants rose 11.4% in 2020 to a new high despite the coronavirus pandemic, Mexico’s central bank reported Monday.

Migrants sent $40.6 billion to Mexico in cash transmissions, known as remittances, including $4 billion in March alone, a record for a single month.

The record flow of cash for 2020 compared to $36.4 billion in remittances sent in 2019. The rise was much better than other countries, which have seen drops in remittances because of job losses or reductions in hours due to the pandemic.

Most Mexican migrants live and work in the United States, where unemployment has surged because of lockdowns. Given the big drop in the value of the peso so far this year, remittances sent in dollars will go much further.