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Indian expats struggling to remit money

DUBAI — The Indian expatriates in the UAE who hold accounts with the State Bank of India (SBI) are struggling to send money home as the bank’s operation has been disrupted due to a strike staged by the employees for the past eight days.

According to a large number of account-holders, the money they sent already is blocked as it is not credited to their accounts.

“I sent money home on April 2, and the money has not yet reached my family. They were waiting for this money for their day-to-day needs. I was not aware of the strike, otherwise I would have sent it through some other ways,” said Rahman, adding that he has no idea when his family will get the money.

He disclosed that he had arranged some money from a friend and sent home through some other channels. “It is easy to transfer money to my NRI account in the bank, and it is not expensive. Now, I am forced to remit money through another channel which is more expensive, because I have no option,” he added.

Mohan, who echoed the same sentiments, said: “I have an account with SBI, but I am forced to send money through another bank which is more expensive for me. My family has been waiting for this money for the monthly household expenses. I am not in a position to wait for the strike to get over.”

Meanwhile, a source from the UAE Exchange disclosed that the strike has not affected their business, but has affected their customers. “The customers have now to depend on other modes to send money back home. As the SBI is the clearing bank for some local banks, the strike has affected the smooth operations of other smaller banks also,” said the source.

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