Several UAE residents who sent remittances through Al Ansari Exchange over the weekend reported on July 7 that their families had yet to receive the funds. Transactions that were meant to process in mere minutes were delayed for over 48 hours for some users.
The delay, attributed to a technical glitch, coincided with a hectic weekend when many expatriates, having just received their monthly salaries, transferred money to cover essential expenses such as rent, education, medical bills, and household needs.
Indian expatriate S.P. told Khaleej Times, “The money I sent on Saturday night is still sitting pretty in their (Al Ansari Exchange) system,” adding, “I checked with them yesterday (July 6), and they blamed NEFT (National Electronic Funds Transfer) collapse. I followed up again today (Monday), and the money still hasn’t reached my family’s bank account in India.”
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S.P. also mentioned calling an Al Ansari branch in Dubai, where staff acknowledged experiencing “technical issues” and assured him the system would be operational soon.
A screenshot of the remittance transaction done on Saturday night showed the funds had still not been received by the intended beneficiary.
‘Minor technical issue’
In a statement released to Khaleej Times on Monday, Al Ansari Exchange explained: “On Saturday, July 5, a minor technical issue was identified that affected the processing of certain financial transactions at Al Ansari Exchange, a wholly owned subsidiary of Al Ansari Financial Services PJSC, resulting in the unintended transfer of funds to a limited number of customer accounts.”
They added that their “team responded immediately in close coordination with the relevant financial institutions, and the vast majority of the amounts were successfully recovered.”
The company also emphasized that “routine daily transactions have not been impacted by this issue and continue to be processed normally,” and noted that “further preventative measures are being implemented to reinforce our systems and avoid future occurrences.”
Al Ansari Exchange also issued an apology “for any inconvenience caused to those affected and thanked all parties for their cooperation and understanding.”
A brief inquiry made by Khaleej Times to one of Al Ansari’s branches on Monday confirmed the existence of a “technical glitch” that occurred on Saturday. A staff member said, “It caused delays in processing the transactions. The system is back to normal today (Monday), but some customers might still experience delays due to the backlog over the weekend.”
‘I incurred a penalty’
Marlon, a Filipino expatriate who has relied on Al Ansari Exchange services for nearly ten years, said this was the first time he encountered a delay sending funds to the Philippines on July 5. “Unfortunately, the timing was so bad because I missed the deadline to pay for my son’s school fees. Due to the delay, I was charged a penalty for late payment,” he told Khaleej Times.
Zee, a Kenyan expatriate residing in Dubai, also faced a delay while sending money for her mother’s medical treatment. “Every month, I send around Dh500 for my mother’s medications for diabetes and high blood pressure. There should be no delay in her receiving the money because it is essential for her health,” she said.
Both Marlon and Zee are still waiting for confirmation from their families regarding the receipt of the funds.
Popular among UAE residents
Al Ansari Exchange is considered “the UAE’s largest remittance and foreign exchange company” and is a subsidiary of Al Ansari Financial Services PJSC. It provides instant online money transfers to several countries, including India, the Philippines, Pakistan, Bangladesh, Sri Lanka, Egypt, and the UK, among others.
According to the company’s website, Al Ansari Exchange “has a network of over 260 branches and employs more than 4,000 multilingual staff who serve over 3 million customers each month, offering quick, reliable, and efficient service at competitive rates.” Their mobile app accounts for about 14% of total transactions.
The company is also known among UAE residents for its annual Dh1 Million Al Ansari Millionaire Promotion. This year, Filipino customer Albert Rioflorido, a UAE resident for the past 12 years, was declared the winner. The promotion ran from March 1 to May 29 and drew millions of participants who qualified through transactions made at physical branches and online platforms.
Globally, the UAE ranks as the third-largest sender of remittances, following the US and Saudi Arabia. In the previous year, Indian expatriates in the UAE sent $21.6 billion to India, making up 19.2% of total remittance inflows and positioning the UAE as the second-largest remittance source after the US.
In 2024, Filipino workers in the UAE remitted approximately $1.52 billion in cash to the Philippines, as reported by Statista.