Page 155 - AAE PR REPORT - SEPTEMBER 2025

9/15/25, 3:45 PM UAE expats increasingly drive shift to digital remittances | Khaleej Times

Salima Gutieva, Visa’s vice president and country manager for the UAE, said the shift reflects deeper
changes in how expatriates manage financial support for their families overseas. “For people in the
UAE, digital payments are increasingly central to how they provide support to their families and

communities around the world,” she said. “As one of the world’s largest remittance hubs, the UAE
plays a critical role in enabling these flows, and Visa is partnering with financial institutions to deliver
simpler, faster and more secure ways to transfer money internationally.”

Visa’s innovations include Visa Direct, which allows real-time money transfers to billions of cards,
bank accounts, and wallets worldwide. In the UAE, Visa has also rolled out Visa+, enabling users to

send international transfers using just a mobile number.

The broader remittance market in the UAE is also undergoing transformation. According to the
Central Bank of the UAE, outward personal remittances reached Dh183 billion in 2024, up from

Dh169.2 billion the previous year, with India, Pakistan, the Philippines, Egypt, and Bangladesh
among the top recipient countries. Traditionally dominated by physical exchange houses, this sector
is increasingly being contested by digital-first players such as Wise, Revolut, PayPal, and UAE-based
start-ups like Al Ansari Exchange’s digital arm and LuLu Money, which have been aggressively

expanding their app-based offerings.

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