BY SACHIN KUMAR
Doha: The holy month of Ramadan has brought joy for exchange houses as they have been receiving a large number of customers sending money.
Another factor which has triggered rush to exchange houses is disbursement of salary by employers.
Exchange houses have witnessed about 10-15 percent rise in the number of transactions in the first two days of Ramadan compared to other days.
“The higher turnout is on the expected lines. During Ramadan there is usually a surge in transactions. In the past also, we have seen significant rise in transactions during Ramadan compared to other months,” said Zuber Abdul Rahman, Operations Manager, Al Zamam Exchange.
“These are the people who have recently got salaries. In the coming days Ramadan-related remittances will increase,” said a senior official of an exchange house. “This month is going to be very busy for us because Ramadan is a peak month for our business,” he added.
Customers had to face long queues at exchange houses.
“Today the crowd in the exchange house was more than the other days,” said Mohamed Khalid, Recruitment Coordinator, Egis International, who sent money to his family in India. “The need for money increases during Ramadan because of Iftar and other charity-related requirements,” he added.
Depreciation of the rupee has also encouraged Indians to send money. The rupee had appreciated to 15.96 on May 19 on anticipation of a turnaround in the Indian economy following a victory for a Bharatiya Janata Party-led coalition in recent elections.
Since then the rupee has again depreciated and closed at 16.49 against QR1 on Monday. Pakistani Rupee closed at 27 against QR1 while Philippine Peso closed at 12.
During the holy month, exchange houses have revised their working hours and decided to open from 9am until midnight.The Peninsula
