29 Mar 2021; MEMO: Outward personal remittances by expats in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) have decreased by 3.9 per cent in 2020 compared with 2019, according to Central Bank of the UAE data.
The bank's quarterly report showed that outward personal remittances by expats have decreased from Dh165.2 billion ($45 billion) in 2019 to Dh158.8 billion ($43.2 billion) in 2020.
According to the report, the second quarter of 2020 witnessed the lowest quarterly transfers with Dh38.2 billion ($10.4 billion), coinciding with the coronavirus pandemic's outbreak and subsequent economic measures imposed to confront it.
The highest quarterly transfers were recorded in the first quarter of the year, before the outbreak of the coronavirus pandemic, with Dh41.4 billion ($11.3 billion), followed by the third quarter with Dh40.1 billion ($10.9 billion) and the fourth quarter with Dh39.1 billion ($10.6 billion).
India was the top-receiving country for remittances made by UAE expats, followed by Pakistan and the Philippines.
According to World Bank data, the UAE is the third-largest source of remittances in the world after the US and Saudi Arabia.
