Emirates NBD recorded an increase of more than 20 per cent in the volume and value of funds transferred via its DirectRemit platform in 2020 compared with 2019 as more customers switched to online and mobile channels for their banking needs during the pandemic.
“DirectRemit was especially critical for customers dealing with urgent family needs or emergencies during lockdown and when movement restrictions were in force,” Emirates NBD said on Wednesday.
DirectRemit is a digital money transfer service that allows customers to send remittances to India, the Philippines, Pakistan, Sri Lanka, Egypt and the United Kingdom in less than 60 seconds and with no charges via the bank’s online or mobile banking platforms.
India and the Philippines topped the list of recipient countries for DirectRemit transactions.
The rise in remittances via the bank’s digital platform is in contrast to the overall personal remittance market in the UAE, which remained sluggish amid the Covid-19 pandemic.
Outbound personal remittances from the UAE fell 7.7 per cent, or Dh3.3 billion, in the third quarter of 2020 compared with the same period in 2019, according to the Central Bank of the UAE. There was a reduction in transfers through exchange houses by Dh6.9bn, while outward remittances through banks increased by Dh3.6bn. India, Pakistan and Egypt were the top destination countries for personal remittances from the UAE during 2020.
The UAE registered outward personal remittances worth Dh41.4bn and Dh38.2bn in the first and second quarters of 2020, respectively.
Changing demographics, labour mobility, unemployment and the pandemic will affect the UAE remittance industry in 2021, according to a survey by the Foreign Exchange and Remittance Group.
Other concerns include changing oil prices, geopolitical instability and reliance on government expenditure.
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Founders: Michele Ferrario, Nino Ulsamer and Freddy Lim
Started: established in 2016 and launched in July 2017
Based: Singapore, with offices in the UAE, Malaysia, Hong Kong, Thailand
Sector: FinTech, wealth management
Initial investment: $500,000 in seed round 1 in 2016; $2.2m in seed round 2 in 2017; $5m in series A round in 2018; $12m in series B round in 2019; $16m in series C round in 2020 and $25m in series D round in 2021
Current staff: more than 160 employees
Stage: series D
Investors: EightRoads Ventures, Square Peg Capital, Sequoia Capital India
The struggle is on for active managers
David Einhorn closed out 2018 with his biggest annual loss ever for the 22-year-old Greenlight Capital.
The firm’s main hedge fund fell 9 per cent in December, extending this year’s decline to 34 percent, according to an investor update viewed by Bloomberg.
Greenlight posted some of the industry’s best returns in its early years, but has stumbled since losing more than 20 per cent in 2015.
Other value-investing managers have also struggled, as a decade of historically low interest rates and the rise of passive investing and quant trading pushed growth stocks past their inexpensive brethren. Three Bays Capital and SPO Partners & Co., which sought to make wagers on undervalued stocks, closed in 2018. Mr Einhorn has repeatedly expressed his frustration with the poor performance this year, while remaining steadfast in his commitment to value investing.
Greenlight, which posted gains only in May and October, underperformed both the broader market and its peers in 2018. The S&P 500 Index dropped 4.4 per cent, including dividends, while the HFRX Global Hedge Fund Index, an early indicator of industry performance, fell 7 per cent through December. 28.
At the start of the year, Greenlight managed $6.3 billion in assets, according to a regulatory filing. By May, the firm was down to $5.5bn.
The years Ramadan fell in May
The five pillars of Islam
Try out the test yourself
Q1 Suppose you had $100 in a savings account and the interest rate was 2 per cent per year. After five years, how much do you think you would have in the account if you left the money to grow?
a) More than $102
b) Exactly $102
c) Less than $102
d) Do not know
e) Refuse to answer
Q2 Imagine that the interest rate on your savings account was 1 per cent per year and inflation was 2 per cent per year. After one year, how much would you be able to buy with the money in this account?
a) More than today
b) Exactly the same as today
c) Less than today
d) Do not know
e) Refuse to answer
Q4 Do you think that the following statement is true or false? “Buying a single company stock usually provides a safer return than a stock mutual fund.”
a) True
b) False
d) Do not know
e) Refuse to answer
The “Big Three” financial literacy questions were created by Professors Annamaria Lusardi of the George Washington School of Business and Olivia Mitchell, of the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania.
Answers: Q1 More than $102 (compound interest). Q2 Less than today (inflation). Q3 False (diversification).
