Al Fardan Exchange, one of the largest money transfer and currency exchange firms in the United Arab Emirates (UAE), announced today a partnership with Thunes, a global leader in cross-border payments, enabling Al Fardan Exchange customers to make seamless payments to 87 countries.
Through this partnership, Al Fardan Exchange’s business and retail customers can make instant payments directly not just to bank accounts, but also mobile wallets and cash pickup points in their home countries, enabling recipients to receive money in their local currency. Aside from speed and convenience, businesses and individuals will benefit from enhanced transparency of the service, they will know exactly what they’re paying upfront, and will be able to track the status of their transactions in real time.
UAE residents will now be able to send money directly through AlFardan Exchange’s 75+ physical branches across the UAE. They will be able to make payouts to bank accounts, mobile wallets and cash pick-up points across 87 countries in Europe, Africa, Asia Pacific and Latin America. These new services tap into growing customer demand for alternative payments and positions Al Fardan Exchange at the forefront of UAE’s rapidly evolving financial services space.
Hasan Fardan Al Fardan, CEO at Al Fardan Exchange says, “We are thrilled to partner with Thunes, a globally renowned institution that powers payments for the world’s fastest-growing businesses.As a customer-centric organization, we are always focused on providing seamless end-to-end experiences for our customers.
This collaboration with Thunes will further digitize our payment services and help boost our business growth strategy.”
In 2021, the total population in UAE was 9.99 million, and of that, 8.84 million were expatriates. According to World Bank data, UAE was the second most significant source country for remittances in 2020, after the United States. The top five remittance recipients were India, China, Mexico, the Philippines and Egypt.
“I am delighted that Al Fardan Exchange has placed their trust in Thunes’ global network. Al Fardan Exchange is a top-tier player and one of the most respected remittance and money exchange companies in the region, so this is an important partnership for us. Ability to make instant payments is becoming more and more critical in the current environment, and we hope that our technology will make a difference and help people feel more connected with their families,” says Simon Nelson, SVP for MENA at Thunes.