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Covid in India: UAE firms waive charges on remittances

Dubai - Exchange houses waiving charges on funds being sent to India’s PM Cares Fund and Kerala Chief Minister’s Distress Relief Fund.

Money transfer companies in the UAE have also decided to chip in by waiving charges to funds being transferred to India’s PM Cares Fund and Kerala Chief Minister’s Distress Relief Fund to help the South Asian country in its fight against the third wave of Covid-19.

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The exchange houses told Khaleej Times that millions of Indians in the UAE and other Gulf countries have come forward to contribute to the two funds.

The third Covid-19 wave that has massively affected India, prompting individuals, companies and governments around the world to support New Delhi whatever possible way they can against the pandemic.

A record 3,689 daily Covid-19 fatalities pushed India’s death toll to 215,542 on Sunday, while the infection count reached to 19,557,457 with 392,488 more people being confirmed positive for the disease, according to the Union Health Ministry data updated on Sunday.

“In these challenging times, we express our solidarity with the people of India, and pray for their safety and well-being. We have waived off charges on money transfers made to the PM Cares Fund and the Kerala Chief Minister’s Distress Relief Fund,” said Adeeb Ahamed, managing director of LuLu Financial Group.

Ahamed hoped that this will encourage people from all walks of life to contribute generously to the ongoing humanitarian and relief efforts at the national and state level.

Joyalukkas Exchange has also announced a waiver of charges on remittances sent to PM Cares Fund in India.

“We stand with India in these challenging times. There are millions of Indians in the Gulf region, who have come forward to donate generously to the PM Cares fund to fight the alarming Covid-19 situation in India. I request everyone to donate generously and help India overcome the crisis,” said Antony Jos, managing director of Joyalukkas Exchange.

India is the largest recipient of remittances from the UAE, accounting for 33.6 per cent or Dh52.7 billion of Dh156.8 billion outward remittances from UAE in 2020. Money remitted through exchange houses amounted to Dh113 billion last year, according to the UAE Central Bank’s latest data.

Rashed Al Ansari, CEO of Al Ansari Exchange, has also announced waiving off fees across all of its branches for donations transferred to India’s PM CARES Fund as part of their endeavours to stand in solidarity with the Indian people.

“We are devastated to witness the worsening of the pandemic in India, but it is important for all our Indian colleagues and friends to know that they are not alone during this critical moment. To do our part and show our support, we have decided to waive remittance fees for all cash donations transferred to PM Cares Fund. We are confident that India will conquer Covid-19 soon and emerge even stronger than before,” said Al Ansari.

Hasan Fardan Al Fardan, CEO of Al Fardan Exchange, has also announced waiving off all charges to any funds being sent to the PM Cares Fund.

-waheedabbas@khaleejtimes.com