UAE’s remittance fintechs need to track what is happening at 'salary level': LuLu Exchange’s MD
Fintechs must take into account the many needs of world’s unbanked: Adeeb Ahamed
Dubai: Fintech companies focussed on remittance services will need to know ‘what happens at the salary level’, according to LuLu Exchange’s Adeeb Ahamed.
This will naturally ‘lead to better fintech products that keep end-consumer in mind,” said Ahamed at the launch of India’s Bharat Bill Payment System (BBPS). The platform will offer expats to have greater control over meeting their families’ expenses in India.
The BBPS has for long been an ask of the NRI community, and its rollout will help channel remittances to meet bills for utility services and so many other domestic expenses.
The launch took place at the Global Fintech Festival in India.
The country received $89 billion in remittances in 2021, with the GCC countries contributing a significant share of this volume. Abu Dhabi-based LuLu Financial Holdings (LuLuFin), which processes over 10 million transactions annually, is a leading player in the global remittances segment.
Ahamed raised the need for greater industry-government collaboration for financial inclusion, citing the UAE’s Wage Protection Scheme, which ‘empowered millions of unbanked blue-collar workers to enter the formal banking system through the issuance of payroll cards’. “Financial inclusion is a priority in the UN’s Sustainable Development Goals (SDG), and meeting this goal requires consistent effort from all stakeholders,” the MD added. “Bringing the world’s unbanked and under-banked migrants into formal banking channels will enable salaries to be transferred into accounts. The remittances thus made digitally, can form the base to create solutions that ultimately benefit them and their loved ones receiving the money back home.”
The company has achieved a turnaround time of less than 15 seconds for remittances to some of its most important corridors, including GCC to India. It has also brought down remittance fees to India to less than the UNSDG target of 3 per cent for every $200 remitted.