Page 93 - AAE PR REPORT - January 2025

Compliance costs

Regulatory compliance has an impact on the remittance business. Companies now need more
manpower to go through all transactions “with a fine-tooth comb”, according to Mr Al Ansari.
“We have a lot of costs associated with compliance. The UAE being removed from the Financial
Action Task Force’s grey list in 2024 was great news and shows that it’s compliant with
international best practices when it comes to financial services across the board,” he said.

“The younger generation wants everything to be real time. That poses a challenge, because
although we have the capability to do a transaction in real time, the regulation requires us to do
a lot of checks and balances that will stop those transactions for a period of time, depending on
the risk associated with a country or a customer profile. There's always a push and pull between
compliance and business and consumer expectations.”

Digital transactions

The digitisation trend for remitting money accelerated after the Covid-19 pandemic, not only in
the UAE but also globally. People find it more convenient to use technology and they trust it
more, Mr Al Ansari said.

Before the pandemic, less than 1 per cent of the exchange house’s remittance business was
through digital channels. Six months into the pandemic, this jumped to 15 per cent. In the first
nine months of last year, 24 per cent of its remittances took place through its digital channel, he
explained.
About 11 per cent of outward cross-border remittances are happening through digital channels
across the UAE, he added.

There is a high smartphone penetration among the UAE’s labour class and domestic workers,
mainly because it’s a cheap way of communicating back home. Exchange houses benefit from
this because they use smartphones as a platform to provide services to them, he added.

https://www.thenationalnews.com/business/money/2025/01/24/remittance-uae-al-ansari/