Al Fardan Exchange, one of the largest money transfer and currency exchange firms in the UAE, has teamed with cross-border payments firm Thunes to enable Al Fardan Exchange customers to make payments to 87 countries in Europe, Africa, Asia Pacific and Latin America.
Thunes signs Al Fardan Exchange for its paytech
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 pick-up points in their home countries, enabling recipients to receive money in their local currency.
Businesses and individuals will benefit from enhanced transparency of the service, the two parties note, as they will know exactly what they’re paying upfront, and will be able to track the status of their transactions in real time.
In 2021, the population in the UAE was nearly ten million, and of that, nearly nine million were expats. According to World Bank data, the UAE was the second most significant source country for remittances in 2020, after the US. The top five remittance recipients were India, China, Mexico, the Philippines and Egypt.
Simon Nelson, SVP for MENA at Thunes, hopes the vendor’s technology “will make a difference and help people feel more connected with their families”.
Thunes currently supports 79 currencies, enables payments to 126 countries, and helps to accept 285+ payment methods. Thunes is headquartered in Singapore with regional offices in London, Paris, Shanghai, New York, Dubai and Nairobi.
It’s an offshoot of mobile payments firm TransferTo, which split its top-up and cross-border divisions into two separate companies – DT One and Thunes, respectively – in 2019.
Last May, Thunes raised $60 million in an extended Series B growth round and shortly afterwards acquired French fintech Limonetik.
Al Fardan Exchange is a member of the Al Fardan Group, which has roots going back to 1954. Launched in the early 1970s, the financial services provider has a network of 75+ locations across the UAE and relationships with over 150 global corresponding banks and financial institutions.
