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Why Indians in UAE Are Sending More Money Home
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Weakened rupee and favorable exchange rates drive surge in remittances from Gulf expats
A sharp dip in the Indian rupee against the UAE dirham has triggered a significant rise in remittances from Indians based in the UAE and Saudi Arabia. With the exchange rate hovering around ₹23.5 per AED—the lowest since early April—expats are seizing the opportunity to send more money home, reported timesofindia.indiatimes.com.
According to exchange houses across the Gulf, there’s been a marked increase in AED-INR transfers since Thursday, June 19. A senior official at a UAE-based exchange firm told Gulf News that, “Last Thursday was one of the best days in recent weeks for AED-INR remittances.” Even when the rupee briefly strengthened to ₹23.46, expats continued to send funds in anticipation of further depreciation.
Weak rupee prompts UAE-based Indians to remit more; exchange houses report surge in AED-INR transactions since June 19.
Typically, June experiences a lull in remittance flows as expats allocate more funds for summer travel and holidays. But this year, the favorable currency trend has reversed that pattern, with transactions remaining strong through the weekend and projected to continue into the following week.
“If the levels stay the same—or drop further—in July, that’s a double win for them,” another exchange house executive explained, indicating that many are capitalizing on the current rate rather than waiting for further declines.
Interestingly, the spike comes against the backdrop of geopolitical instability, particularly the ongoing Israel-Iran conflict. While traditionally such global tensions strengthen the US dollar, this time investors have shifted their preference to gold, keeping the dollar relatively soft and giving the rupee some cushion.
