Falling rupee helps Indian expats remit more ahead of summer break

Crowd at a money exchange center in Dubai.-KT file photo

Dubai - Some residents are still waiting to check if the prices will drop further

Indian expatriates in the UAE took advantage of the Indian rupee slump over the weekend to send money back home.
The Indian currency was trading at Rs18.74 to Rs18.58 to a dirham over the weekend, and exchange houses have reported high net worth transactions.
According to Abdul Nizar, UAE Exchange Sharjah City Centre branch supervisor, the exchange witnessed the highest rush Thursday evening. "The exchange rate on Thursday was Rs18.74 and on Friday it was Rs18.58. More than footfalls and enquiries, we had several high net worth transactions," he said. "The branch even recorded single transactions worth Dh300,000," he added.
Remittance to India tends to be higher during the summertime, according to the money exchange employees, as families' head back home and return for school reopening in September. Exchanges also confirmed high net worth people in business were sending Dh500,000 to Dh600,000.
Nizar also suggested that residents are still waiting to check if the prices will drop further. "A lot of customers who are travelling to India have even purchased rupees in cash, and many others have remitted huge sums to their bank accounts. They are now waiting to see if there would be another drop," said Nizar.
Beema Mahrouf, an employee of Al Fardan Exchange at the Khaleed bin Al Waleed Road in Bur Dubai, confirmed that enquiries and volume per transaction have considerably increased. "People are sending huge amounts. Many residents who had been saving money are remitting now," said Mahrouf. "Enquiries have increased. Most of the people sending money are from the southern states of Kerala and Tamil Nadu. However, high volume transactions are from people in Mumbai."
"Thursday was exceptionally crowded because it was the last school day, and our branch recorded single transactions worth Dh 200,000 to Dh300,000," he added.
Nizar also said that remittances were higher this year as compared to the same time last year. "Last summer vacations, the trade was priced at Rs17.40 to Rs17.50. We did have a rush, but it was not as much as we experienced this weekend," concluded Nizar.

What residents say