UAE exchange houses raise remittance fees by 15%

• The fee increase will be for remittance services provided through physical branches of exchange houses.
• They received approval from the authorities to raise the fee by 15 percent.
• This is the first fee adjustment by exchange houses in five years to address cost increases.

The announcement on Monday stated that the fees for remitting money for expatriates from the UAE will increase by 15 percent. The Foreign Exchange and Remittance Group (FERG), representing the exchange houses in the UAE, stated that they received approval from the authorities to raise the fee by 15 percent, equating to Dh2.5.

The body stated that the fee hike will occur for remittance services provided through physical branches of the exchange houses. However, remittances offered via mobile apps will most likely remain unchanged or even reduced to maintain digital competitiveness.

“This move ensures that exchange houses can sustain the delivery of high-quality services while addressing the changing regulatory requirements and associated operational costs, all of which were maintained without fee increases for the past five years,” said Mohammad A. Al Ansari, chairman of Ferg.

The UAE is one of the world’s largest remittance markets, with most of the remittances flowing to India, Egypt, Pakistan, Bangladesh, the Philippines, and other Asian and Middle Eastern countries. The UAE also hosts one of the highest populations of foreign workers, accounting for nearly 85 percent of the UAE’s population.

Ferg stated that this is the first fee adjustment by the exchange houses in five years to address cost increases since the previous update.

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