UAE expat remittances amounted to Dhs79.6bn in H1 2020

The Central Bank of the UAE (CBUAE) has said that expats remitted a total of Dhs79.6bn in H1 2020, compared to Dhs80.96bn remitted in H1 2019.

The amount remitted in H1 2020 accounts for 48.2 per cent of the total money transferred by foreign residents in the country during 2019, which totaled Dhs165bn.

Outward personal remittances from the UAE during Q1 2020 rose 7.8 per cent year-on-year from Dhs38.4bn to Dhs41.4bn, whereas Q2 remittances amounted to Dhs38.2bn.

Read: Outward personal remittances from the UAE in Q1 2020 increased 7.8% y-on-y

The CBUAE added that 76 per cent the total was transferred via money exchange companies operating in the country and the rest through banks.

India was the biggest recipient country of these remittances followed by the Philippines, Pakistan, Bangladesh, Egypt, and the US.

In April, the World Bank cautioned that global remittance flows will tumble 20 per cent this year as a result of the coronavirus pandemic and its effects on business.

It estimated that transfers to low- and middle-income countries from workers abroad probably will plunge by a fifth to $445bn – the sharpest decline since 1980.