Claver Gatete of Rwanda's Central Bank said in an interview that remittances was $126.07 million as of July 2010, thanks to changes in rules aimed at simplifying the process.
"Given the fact that we are at this level, we are going to way exceed the money we received last year, projecting to reach $200 million. This is because we have liberalized the process and the maximum amount," Gatete said.
Prior to 2009, individuals were allowed to send a maximum of $2,000 through money transfer agents like Western Union, while sums above that had to go through a bank account.
"Money sent through Western Union and MoneyGram was $28.7 million, through commercial banks was $22.9 million and $74.5 million was moved through forex bureaus in the first seven months of this year," said Gatete, of the money sent by July this year.
Under the new rules which came into effect in 2009, there are no limits to the amount an individual can send back home through money transfer agents
The ministry of foreign affairs is yet to carry out a census to determine the number of Rwandans living out of the country but the central bank estimates the largest group, of almost 20,000, live in Belgium.
Last month, the bank said that it had put in place new payment service regulations to allow more local and international remittance service providers to participate in the business.
Previously, the agencies had to use banks to send and receive funds and some big players got the banks in exclusive contracts and blocked out other service providers.
The new rules remove these exclusive contracts and there has been a noted increase in the remittance figures, the central bank said in a statement.
A new fund called the Rwanda Diaspora Mutual Fund was licensed and launched in December 2009 with an intention to have it list securities on the Rwanda over-the-counter market, the bank said.
"A number of Rwandese living abroad have expressed their desire to invest in government securities. Process is underway to facilitate them (to) participate in the October 2010 issuance," it added in the statement.
