Poles will send home close to €2bn
Thursday August 07 2008
POLISH workers here are expected to send more money home than ever this year despite the economic downturn, with some commentators believing it will top €2bn.
Last year, Poles sent €1.33bn home from Ireland, according to the Polish Central Bank, NBP. But the bank estimates the figure this year will reach €1.87bn -- despite anecdotal evidence that Eastern European workers are leaving Ireland because of a fall-off in jobs, especially in the construction sector.
However, the actual figure may be higher. Two-thirds of Poles in Ireland send money home, but just 46pc use a bank account to do so. Others use specialist transfer firms such as Western union, or take it home on flights themselves.
But economists at Raiffeisen Bank in Poland confirmed yesterday that each month sees more transactions in euro and that they expect it to continue.
"As long as there are Poles abroad, they will send money home and it is of little significance whether the currency is weakening," Andrzej Romanowicz at Raiffeisen Bank said.
Over the past two years banks, including AIB and Permanent TSB, published Polish guides to key products on their websites and in their branches.
Bank of Ireland has launched a Polish-language telephone helpdesk and Permanent TSB has hired Polish speakers to operate in its call centres.
"The number of accounts opened by Poles overseas is growing steadily and so is the number of transfers to Poland from abroad," Dorota Szostek from Citibank in Poland said.
Bankers in Poland have pointed out that the huge amount of money pouring into the country from Ireland, Britain and the US is improving the country's balance of payments and making the zloty currency vastly stronger against other currencies -- including the euro.
- Jason O'Brien
