What does remittance mean?
A remittance is money sent to another person, usually as part of a regular arrangement. The term is especially common for payments made by governments, employers, charities, or relatives living abroad, and it may refer both to the payment itself and to the amount transferred. A remittance can therefore support a household, satisfy an obligation, or represent wages or benefits sent from one country to another. Related expressions include monthly remittance, a common transfer arrangement, and remittance advice, a formal notification that money has been sent. The word is more precise than the general term payment because it emphasizes the sending of money, while remittance advice specifically refers to confirmation of that transfer.
nounA payment or amount of money sent to someone, especially a regular payment made by a government, employer, or other organization. The term can also refer to the act of sending such a payment.
- A payment of money sent to someone, especially a regular payment made by a government, employer, or organization.
- The amount of money sent in such a payment.
- The act or process of sending money.
"Many families rely on the monthly remittance from relatives working abroad."
"The charity provides food to families until their first remittance arrives."
"The bank issued a remittance advice confirming the transfer of funds."
The plural is used for separate payments, amounts, or transfers.
"The company processed several remittances before the end of the month."
The word remittance names both the money sent and the act of sending it, which is why it can describe both a payment and the transaction that delivers it.
Reviewed by Deb Chak, Editor. AI-assisted content curated by RJS Tech Solutions LLP.
Where does remittance come from?
Remittance comes from the Latin remittere, meaning 'to send back,' formed from re- and mittere, 'to send.' In English, the word developed through the idea of sending money and was recorded in the sense of a payment sent to another person. The same Latin root is reflected in words such as mission, missive, and intermittent, as well as in the related English verb remit.
Related word forms
How remittance is actually used
The word is formal and commonly associated with regular payments sent across borders, wages, pensions, benefits, and other official or institutional transfers. In British usage, remittance advice is also commonly used to mean a payment notification.
Easily confused with remittance
A remittance is money sent to someone, whereas to remit is to send money or to send an official matter back for consideration.