Now, you can SMS money back home
For thousands of expat workers in the UAE, the long wait and serpentine queues at exchange houses to remit money home will soon be an ordeal of the past.
With a new SMS technology, they will now be able to send and receive money instantly around the world, provided they have a ‘salary card’ issued by a leading UAE bank.
In a pioneering effort to provide financial services across the UAE to a category of ‘underserved and unbanked people,’ mostly low income workers, Emirates Bank is introducing this card, which can be used to remit funds, and pay local and international bill by SMS.
“This method will be cheaper, safer and more convenient than current alternatives,” a spokesman of the bank told Khaleej Times. The card can also be used like a debit card at ATMs to withdraw cash or make payments at point of sales outlets.
“There is no need to maintain an account or a minimum balance with the bank,” he added.
The service will be available through a variety of channels including SMS, call centres, and ATMs.
The bank offers this global remittance service in conjunction with Infospan Inc, a California-based technology company.
According to Jamal bin Ghalaita, General Manager Consumer Banking & Wealth Management at Emirates Bank, the bank has received interest from various employers, merchants and government agencies to tie-up with this service and create a truly unique all-in-one payment card that can be easily recharged at hundreds of locations across the UAE.
“Such a service is all the more significant for its timing now that the government, in its effort to ensure that low income workers wages are paid on time, is making it mandatory that their remuneration should be paid through banks,” says the spokesman of a major contracting company which has more than a thousand blue-collar workers.
“With this new solution, employers will be able to credit salaries to workers accounts automatically. These workers will be able to access hundreds of ATMs and Point-Of-Sale units across the UAE at low costs and with no minimum monthly balance requirements.
“In addition, they will be able to remit funds back home in a method that is cheaper, safer and more convenient than current alternatives,” the bank said. Source
With a new SMS technology, they will now be able to send and receive money instantly around the world, provided they have a ‘salary card’ issued by a leading UAE bank.
In a pioneering effort to provide financial services across the UAE to a category of ‘underserved and unbanked people,’ mostly low income workers, Emirates Bank is introducing this card, which can be used to remit funds, and pay local and international bill by SMS.
“This method will be cheaper, safer and more convenient than current alternatives,” a spokesman of the bank told Khaleej Times. The card can also be used like a debit card at ATMs to withdraw cash or make payments at point of sales outlets.
“There is no need to maintain an account or a minimum balance with the bank,” he added.
The service will be available through a variety of channels including SMS, call centres, and ATMs.
The bank offers this global remittance service in conjunction with Infospan Inc, a California-based technology company.
According to Jamal bin Ghalaita, General Manager Consumer Banking & Wealth Management at Emirates Bank, the bank has received interest from various employers, merchants and government agencies to tie-up with this service and create a truly unique all-in-one payment card that can be easily recharged at hundreds of locations across the UAE.
“Such a service is all the more significant for its timing now that the government, in its effort to ensure that low income workers wages are paid on time, is making it mandatory that their remuneration should be paid through banks,” says the spokesman of a major contracting company which has more than a thousand blue-collar workers.
“With this new solution, employers will be able to credit salaries to workers accounts automatically. These workers will be able to access hundreds of ATMs and Point-Of-Sale units across the UAE at low costs and with no minimum monthly balance requirements.
“In addition, they will be able to remit funds back home in a method that is cheaper, safer and more convenient than current alternatives,” the bank said. Source
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