What Is a Unilateral Transfer?

A unilateral transfer is a one-way transfer of money, goods, or services from one party to another. It is often used to describe payments made by a government to their citizens, or from one country to another country in the form of foreign aid. In these cases, the supplier of funds receives nothing in return from the recipient. A unilateral transfer differs from a bilateral transfer, such as bilateral trade, which involves reciprocal economic benefit for both parties to a transaction.

Understanding Unilateral Transfers

Unilateral transfers occur frequently as gifts in everyday life. This can be contrasted with bilateral transfers, a mutual exchange of goods, money, or services. A birthday gift or wedding present are examples where nothing is expected in return.

Donations to charities or other forms of philanthropy can also be construed as a unilateral transfer, although some such donations may receive tax benefits. Governments may hand out unilateral transfers in the form of economic stimulus, for instance, in the checks sent to American families during the financial crisis in early 2020.

Unilateral transfers sent by governments are included in the current account of a nation's balance of payments. They are distinct from trade transactions, which are bilateral in that both parties receive something. Unilateral transfers encompass things such as humanitarian aid and payments made by immigrants to their native countries.

Unilateral transfers are thus often involved in instances of direct foreign aid. Unilateral aid occurs when one government directly transfers money or other assets to a recipient country. Critics have argued, however, that direct foreign aid can be problematic and lead to negative unintended consequences.

For instance, direct cash sent to Africa has been "an unmitigated economic, political, and humanitarian disaster," as written by Zambian-born economist and World Bank consultant Dambisa Moyo in her book Dead Aid: Why Aid Is Not Working and How There Is a Better Way to Help Africa. Foreign governments are often corrupt and use foreign aid money to bolster their military control or to create propaganda-style education programs instead of using it to help their population.

Unilateral Transfer Example

The economic stimulus provided to citizens during the COVID-19 pandemic, in the form of direct payments to households, constitutes a unilateral payment, in that the government provided funds with no expectations of receiving something in return. Indirectly, the expectation was that the payments would help bolster the economy by sparking more consumer spending. However, there was no expectation or requirement for any repayment. The U.S. government spent an estimated $817 billion on three rounds of payments between March 2020 and March 2021.

The Bottom Line

A unilateral transfer is a type of payment or aid from one party to another that doesn't require anything in return. A government can make a unilateral transfer to its citizens, in the form of economic stimulus, or social security, or to another country in the form of humanitarian or military aid. A person or organization can make a gift, donation or other form of support to an individual with no expectation of reciprocation, constituting a unilateral transfer.