Figures issued by the World Bank show that the cost of sending $500 in remittances from the United States to Lebanon reached 5.54% in the fourth quarter of 2018 relative to 5.62% in the third quarter of 2018 and to 5.93% in the fourth quarter of 2017. The cost includes the transaction fee and exchange rate margin, and represents the average cost of transferring money through commercial banks and money transfer operators. In nominal terms, the cost of sending $500 from the U.S. to Lebanon was $27.71 in the fourth quarter of 2018 compared to $28.1 in the preceding quarter and to $29.65 in the fourth quarter of 2017. Lebanon is the ninth most expensive destination for sending $500 from the U.S. among 42 countries with available data.

Further, the cost of sending remittances from Canada to Lebanon was 7.73% in the fourth quarter of 2018 for a transfer of CAD500, up from 7.39% in the third quarter of 2018 and relative to 6.16% in the fourth quarter of 2017. In nominal terms, the cost of sending CAD500 from Canada to Lebanon was CAD38.64 in the fourth quarter of 2018 relative to CAD36.94 in the previous quarter and to CAD30.79 in the fourth quarter of 2017. Lebanon is the third most expensive destination for sending CAD500 from Canada among 15 countries with available data.

Also, the cost of sending remittances from Australia to Lebanon reached 6.92% in the fourth quarter of 2018 for a transfer of AUD500, up from 6.82% % in the third quarter of 2018 and relative to 7.32% in the fourth quarter of 2017. The cost of sending AUD500 from Australia to Lebanon was AUD34.58 in the fourth quarter of 2018 relative to AUD34.08 in the preceding quarter and to AUD36.61 in the fourth quarter of 2017. Lebanon is the sixth most expensive destination for sending AUD500 from Australia among 16 countries with available data.