A file photo shows expat workers at an exchange house to remit money home.
DOHA: Worker remittances could soar up to an incredible QR80bn ($22bn) by the end of the year, reports Al Sharq.
Quoting reliable sources in the local remittances sector, the daily said a huge influx of foreign workers for several mega development projects being launched was pushing money transfer volumes considerably up.
“There has already been 20 percent growth in remittance volumes this year,” the daily said, quoting a official from an exchange house.
Exchange firms are mushrooming across the country with many existing ones spreading out and setting up branches to reach out to the expatriate population.
They are also busy providing intensive training to their staff to be able to cater efficiently to an increasing number of customers.
Staff are being trained to detect counterfeit currency notes and smell and catch shady transactions (a reference to money laundering attempts).
According to the daily, instances of exchange houses coming across counterfeit dollar bills are very few in Qatar compared to other countries.
There have been some cases but they have been very few, the daily quoted remittance business sources as saying.
Qatar’s thriving money transfer industry is almost crime-free and strictly complies with the law and directives of the banking and financial services regulator, Qatar Central Bank which is also the supervisory body for the exchange houses.
Overseas remittances routed by foreign workers totalled a massive QR47.5bn ($13bn) in 2011. Indians were the largest remitters followed by the Filipinos.
In the GCC, Saudi Arabia, which is believed to be home to some seven million expatriate workers — the largest in the region — witnesses remittance outflows of more than $25bn a year followed by the UAE.
Sources say it is to be seen if Qatar can leave the UAE behind in worker remittance volumes this year. The Peninsula
