Company honored during ceremony of Sheikh Khalifa Excellence Awards for its commitment to implement the highest standards of quality

May 29, 2011

Al Ansari Exchange, the UAE’s largest network exchange house that provides worldwide remittance and foreign exchange services, received the ‘Sheikh Khalifa Excellence Award 2010 (SKEA) - Quality Appreciation Award’ for its outstanding performance in the UAE financial sector. His Highness Sheikh Hamdan Bin Zayed Al Nahyan, the Ruler’s Representative in the Western Region led the award ceremonies at the Emirates Palace Hotel in Abu Dhabi, UAE. On hand to receive the award for Al Ansari Exchange was Mohammad Ali Al Ansari, the company’s Managing Director. This is the second time that the company has received this award, which reflects key improvements and roll out of strategic financial services to its rapidly growing customer base.

“Al Ansari Exchange is extremely honoured to be one of the awardees at this year’s edition of the Sheikh Khalifa Excellence Awards. This recognition serves as both a continuing vote of confidence from our customers and an inspiration for us to continue in providing more strategic financial services in the UAE,” said Mohammad Ali Al Ansari, Managing Director, Al Ansari Exchange. “Rest assured, we will continue to remain steadfast in our efforts to live up to the award, further aiming to improve our performance and to provide invaluable support to the UAE government’s various initiatives aimed towards economic development.”

IAMTN lauds Al Ansari Exchange for continued commitment to provide world-class financial services to growing customer base

April 03, 2011

Al Ansari Exchange, the UAE’s largest network exchange house that provides worldwide remittance and foreign exchange services, has been named as the ‘Best Remittance Services Provider’ in Middle East and Northern Africa. The awards ceremony was part of the Money Transfers Dubai Conference 2011 (MTD) held at the Grosvenor House Hotel, an annual event organised by the London-based International Association of Money Transfer Networks (IAMTN). Over the years, the MTD has been regarded as one of the most important International conferences in the money transfer industry. The prestigious award affirms Al Ansari Exchange’s continuous commitment to provide exceptional financial services in a convenient and easy to access way - complemented with the goal of reaching out to newer customers with the promise of faster services and complete customer satisfaction.

MTD Conference 2011 attracted business leaders from international money transfer companies, banks, regulators, suppliers, intergovernmental agencies, technology companies and legal firms. The event provided participants with a networking platform to share best practices and discuss key developments in different segments of the financial industry. During the conference, IAMTN stressed on the importance of raising awareness on the role of money transfers in strengthening the global economy.

“The last edition of MTD was truly successful, as it not only allowed us a review of the current state of the money transfer industry but also the opportunity to strengthen relationships with all of our international members,“ said Leon Isaacs, Managing Director, IAMTN. “We are also very proud to hand the award of ‘Best Company - Remittance Services Provider’ for the Middle East and Africa to Al Ansari Exchange. We have witnessed how the company has evolved into becoming one of the most sought after financial exchange and remittances house in the UAE and for the rest of the Middle East and African region. Results of the voting process were based on customer votes, which also aimed at determining the level of satisfaction based on factors like oriented services, customer service and the quality of innovated products in as essential criteria to win the award.”

“We are very proud with this honour from the IAMTN, which is a tribute to all companies who are operating in the UAE money transfer industry, because of its competitive edge to gain customers satisfaction. The confidence and the recognition that they have placed in Al Ansari Exchange further drives us in our commitment to create and develop strategic financial services and products that are specially customised for our customers and meet their expectations” said Rashed Ali Al Ansari, General Manager, Al Ansari Exchange. “2010 has been a banner year for Al Ansari Exchange as we have managed to reach 100 branches in the UAE, improve our innovative products and services offering and prove a world class customer service whilst maintaining our Superbrand status for five consecutive years. We remain steadfast in our promise to offer our growing customer base the best and most innovative services that meets and exceeds their expectations.”

Corporate Intranet application helps leading exchange house facilitate secure connection and data transfer in the country

March 07, 2011

Al Ansari Exchange, the UAE’s largest network exchange house that provides worldwide remittance and foreign exchange services, has revealed that all its 100 branches across the UAE are now connected via Etisalat’s ‘IP Connect’ service. By utilizing Multiprotocol Label Switching (MPLS) technology over IP - VPN’s, this service offers comprehensive management features for all connections and routers at the company’s branches across the country. Further, Etisalat ‘IP Connect’ provides the company with highly reliable speeds over an enhanced infrastructure that offers anticipatory solution for technical problems prior to their occurrence, which helps boost the performance of devices whilst minimizing total cost.

Etisalat’s ‘IP Connect’ provides diverse key features that meet the requirements of the company’s expansion activities nationwide such as reducing transaction execution time, providing swifter data transfer between branch offices and Central Operation Department, in addition to providing high quality and exceptional security solutions that would further performance and productivity. The solution helps in lowering operational costs thereby allowing employees to focus on their core tasks and reinforces the leading position of Al Ansari Exchange in implementing the latest communication and management information technologies.

Rashed Ali Al Ansari, General Manager, Al Ansari Exchange said, “In light of our constant expansion across the country, we are required to enhance our infrastructure by implementing the latest information and communication technologies, thus boosting the efficiency and effectiveness of the performance of our interaction with banks and correspondents through high-speed IP networks. This is in perfect alignment with our constant keenness on enhancing the certified financial services we provide our clients with. We are certain that implementing the latest technological solutions will further our ability to provide the best money exchange and transfer services, in a manner that reinforces the overall performance and productivity of our company”.

Abdulla Hashim, Senior Vice President, Business Solutions at Etisalat, said: “Etisalat’s IP Connect service offers a unique combination of swiftness, scalability, reach and reliability to businesses. With speeds of up to 10 GB, IP Connect plays a pivotal role in enabling strategic business growth through its rich technology. We believe that through IP Connect, Al Ansari Exchange would be able to accelerate its growth rate through leveraging the benefits of virtual networks, which would provide added value for the company such as increasing branch productivity, enhancing operational efficiency, and connectivity with the central operation management”.

The Company’s 5th Consecutive Participation Reflects Deep Commitment to reinforcement of UAE’s Emiratization Policy

February 22, 2011

Al Ansari Exchange, the UAE’s largest network exchange house that provides worldwide remittance and foreign exchange services, has announced its participation in the 13th ‘National Career Exhibition 2011’ which runs from February 23 to February 25 at Expo Center Sharjah, reflecting the company’s keenness on actively reinforcing the Emiratization policy adopted by the UAE government.

The Emiratization program that the company has adopted comes in perfect alignment with the UAE government’s efforts to raise awareness and act as a catalyst for Emiratization in the banking sector; whereas Al Ansari Exchange is deeply committed to offering its support to talented UAE Nationals offering them appropriate opportunities that assist them in realizing career advancement and excellence. Considering the increasing number of citizen graduates, Al Ansari Exchange has been keen on launching many innovative initiatives relevant to the diverse fields of habilitation, training, and skill development in order to help the citizen youth achieve balance between theoretical banking concepts and practical experience, and assist those who choose to work in this sector in making a clear and appropriate career choice.

Commenting on the event, Mr. Rashid Ali Al Ansari, General Manager of Al Ansari Exchange, said, “The National Career Exhibition” is an excellent platform that allows us the opportunity to contribute in furthering the implementation of Emiratization plans by selecting the best qualified citizens; in order to play an active role in reinforcing the company’s growth and development strategies, on the one hand, and building a promising career future on the other. What distinguishes our stand this year is that we have built an actual counter which enables the training team to provide a live demonstration giving the visitors an opportunity to experience working within our branches. Furthermore, our Human Resources team will be providing the visitors with career advice through the period of the exhibition.

Al Ansari Exchange has implemented many important Emiratization initiatives, which include select key training programs that target development of the skills and capabilities of Emirati citizens - training the new graduates in diverse areas of banking like Financial transactions and processes, Al Ansari Exchange products and their structure, the organizational structure, customer service, and internal relations between all the company’s departments. In addition, these programs aim at developing UAE nationals’ leadership and management knowledge and expertise in the banking sector; giving them the needed qualifications to occupy higher employment designations or the ability to choose a job that can help them move up in their chosen career.

Al Ansari concluded, “Our participation to this Event materializes our vision in attracting a wide variety of highly qualified citizen staff; giving them the opportunity to build their future by joining our family and nurture their future ambitions. The business environment at Al Ansari Exchange opens for its employees, especially novices, the opportunity to work in an integrated environment hand-in-hand with a veteran working team from 30 countries. We expect to recruit higher numbers of UAE nationals this year since we have more than 100 branches across many areas of the UAE which serves as a significant attraction point to those who want to work closer to where they live”.

Leading network exchange house’s newest branch to provide customers with world-class financial products and services

February 8, 2011

Al Ansari Exchange, the UAE’s largest network exchange house that provides worldwide remittance and foreign exchange services, has announced the opening of its 101st branch located in Ajman Markets Cooperative in the Al Nuaimi area. Present during the inauguration of the new Al Ansari branch was His Highness Sheikh Majid Bin Saeed Al Nuaimi, Chairman of the Emiri Court; Rashed Al Ansari, General Manager, Al Ansari Exchange; and officials from the local Ajman government and representatives from Al Ansari and the private sector.

“We are pleased that more and more businesses like Al Ansari Exchange are investing in Ajman and being part of its move towards more growth and development,” said His Highness Sheikh Majid Bin Saeed Al Nuaimi. “Al Ansari Exchange will allow Ajman’s expat residents the opportunity to avail of key financial services - remittances and foreign exchange. We are looking forward to the entry of more business and investment opportunities and projects in Ajman to help in its bid for growth and development.”

The new branch reflects the company’s commitment towards branch expansion and the roll out of new financial services that have been customised and specifically designed for Al Ansari Exchange’s diverse customer base. The new branch is located at Al Nuaimi area at the ground floor in Ajman Markets Cooperative. The branch will be open from Saturday till Thursday (9:00 AM-10:00PM) and will also be open on Fridays (4:00 PM-10:00PM).

“The opening of Al Ansari’s Exchange new branch in Ajman Markets Cooperative gives us the opportunity to expand our services across Ajman and especially in Al Nuaimi, a rapidly expanding area representing a multi-ethnic and multi-cultural demography”, said Rashed Al Ansari, General Manager, Al Ansari Exchange. “Our ongoing and continued expansion of our branches that are located across the UAE underlines our commitment to remain steadfast to our goal of reaching out to a wider audience across the country, especially in the Northern Emirates. Our key target is to be the preferred choice for all customers by providing them with value-added financial services that adequately meet their needs, while also ensuring that their transactions are completed quickly and easily.”

Opening of latest branch complements leading company’s strategic thrust to provide high-quality financial and remittance services

December 15, 2010

Al Ansari Exchange, the UAE’s largest network exchange house that provides worldwide remittance and foreign exchange services, opened its 100th UAE branch in Souk Madinat Jumeirah, Dubai. The landmark event was marked by an opening ceremony that was attended by Mohammad Ali Al Ansari, Managing Director, and senior management of Al Ansari Exchange. The opening of the Souk Madinat Jumeirah branch reflects the achievement of the company’s goal of providing exceptional financial services in a convenient and easy-to-access way, thus ensuring safe and secured services for Al Ansari Exchange’s customer base.

Strategically located along one of the Dubai top tourist destinations, the new Al Ansari Exchange branch will also cater to the demand for financial services and transactions of tourists who are staying in the nearby hotels and resorts and the visitors of Souq. The opening reflects the company’s move to implement a series of strategic initiatives and programs that include branch expansions and the roll out of new financial services that have been specifically designed and customised to fit all of Al Ansari Exchange’s diverse customer base – aiming to reach out to newer customers with the promise of faster services and complete customer satisfaction. The new branch is located along the entrance area of the Al Qasr Hotel in Souk Madinat Jumeirah and is open daily from 10:00 AM until 11:30 PM.

“The opening of our new Souk Madinat branch marks a significant event in the company’s rich history. Today, we celebrate the achievement of opening 100 branches in the UAE which reflects our commitment to reinforce ties with current customers while creating newer ties with new customers as well,” said Mohammad Al Ansari, Managing Director, Al Ansari Exchange. “Opening a new branch gives us the confidence of being closer to our customers and complements our commitment to provide them with key financial services that is convenient and easy to access. Moreover, we affirm our promise to open more branches that will be strategically located across the UAE - being a part of every community.”

“The UAE has shown vibrant signs of recovery from the global financial crisis; which is ably reflected in the increased economic activity across the country’s various verticals,” added Rashed Ali Al Ansari, General Manager, Al Ansari Exchange. “Today’s opening follows after recent branch launches in key UAE areas like Yas Island and Dalma Mall in Abu Dhabi City; Liwa City, Mirfaa and Sila in Western Region; Naimia in Ajman and Global Village. Al Ansari Exchange reaffirms its strategy to provide special financial services for businesses and individuals living and working in locations vital to meet the different needs under one roof with all the comfort and security”

The company has also recently launched its new winter season mega promotion, ‘Al Ansari Rewards - Winter Mega Promotion 2010,’ giving away AED 1 million worth of cash prizes to 100 winners and 10 brand new Ford Fiestas. The promotion, which will run from November 15, 2010 to January 10, 2011, has already garnered wide response from Al Ansari customers.

AED 1 million and 10 brand new Ford Fiesta cars to be given away

November 27, 2010

Al Ansari Exchange, the UAE’s largest network exchange house, that provides worldwide remittance and foreign exchange services, has launched Al Ansari Rewards - Winter Promotion 2010, giving away AED 1 million worth of cash prizes and 10 brand new Ford Fiesta cars. 100 customers will be awarded during the current promotion, which started on November 15, 2010 and will run until January 10, 2011, and is a follow up to its successful summer promotion 2010.

“We are proud to announce the new winter season campaign, Al Ansari Rewards - Winter Promotion 2010, which is our way of acknowledging the strong support and patronage that we have received from our customers,” said Rashed Ali Al Ansari, General Manager of Al Ansari Exchange. “Al Ansari Exchange will continue to provide high quality remittance and foreign exchange services combined with unique product and services offerings for our distinguished customers. We also assure our loyal customers to hold and organize such exciting promotional offerings and prizes in the years to come.”

Al Ansari Rewards - Winter Promotion 2010 is designed to double the customers’ celebrations in this festive season. Under the rules of the promotion, transaction invoices of customers using Al Ansari Exchange’s remittance and foreign exchange services will automatically be entered into the electronic raffle on 16 January 2011, which will be held under the supervision of the Department of Economic Development in Dubai.

Al Ansari Exchange opens five new branches in industrial and labour camp areas to provide labourers easy access to their salaries

October 30, 2010

Al Ansari Exchange, the UAE’s largest network exchange house that provides worldwide remittance and foreign exchange services, has revealed that its partnership with 5,515 UAE-based companies has led all said businesses to comply with the ‘Wages Protection System’ (WPS), a payroll regulation required by the UAE Ministry of Labour and Central Bank. Underlining its commitment to aiding local businesses through secure and convenient disbursement of salaries and its aims to broaden its client base, the company has opened five new branches in Dubai (Sonapoor area, Muhaisnah; and Al Khail Mall, Al Qouz) and in Sharjah (National Paints area; Safer Mall, Mussafah area), in addition to another soon-to-be opened branch in Abu Dhabi (Yas Island). The company has also recently unveiled the Al Ansari Exchange Mobile Branch, which provides a host of salary disbursal services in accordance with the highest security standards.

“The WPS scheme has been designed and implemented by the UAE Ministry of Labour and Central Bank to ensure security and accountability for employees and employers, and we are committed to supporting this goal by partnering with local businesses and injecting WPS compliance in their payroll systems,” said Mohammad Ali Al Ansari, Managing Director, Al Ansari Exchange. “As a key member of the Consulting Committee of WPS, which is a dedicated committee that focuses on the development of WPS processes and implementation, we continue to take major strides to further enhance the WPS services we provide. This includes our continuous expansion initiatives, which underlines our commitment to promoting WPS compliance among local organisations across the country.”

Earlier this year, Al Ansari Exchange launched the ‘Pay Plus Card’, which allows companies to modernise their payroll systems and streamline the preparation and distribution of payrolls through the issuance of a special salary card to their employees. In addition to this, other components of Al Ansari Exchange’ WPS service include currency rates and special offers for remitting salaries to employees’ home countries, where a team of dedicated staff is appointed to handle salary transactions in all branches, in addition to the online status with the Central Bank that announces availability of salaries for registered companies.

“By providing our clients with 100 per cent WPS-compliant services, which can be accessed across our wide network of branches all over the UAE, we seek to support the government’s efforts to establish and instil a culture of transparency and responsibility among all employers. We leverage our strategic partnerships and our recent membership to the Society for Worldwide Interbank Financial Telecommunication to fuel the expansion of our services, and to help small companies with no corporate bank accounts achieve compliance to WPS. We are very proud to be one of the pioneers in this arena, and our continuous investment into WPS related offerings is in line with our commitment to providing the best services that address the specific needs of our customers,” concluded Al Ansari.

AED 200,000 aid to disaster-stricken provinces to be disbursed among displaced Pakistanis by UAE Red Crescent

September 07, 2010

Al Ansari Exchange, a leading provider of worldwide remittance and foreign exchange services, has extended its support to the victims of the massive floods in Pakistan, which has left over 4 million people homeless, in addition to major casualties and destruction of properties and crops. A total cash aid amounting to AED 200,000 has been placed under the supervision of UAE Red Crescent, which will use the funds to distribute tents and emergency shelters to help house thousands of flood victims.

“Our sympathies go to the thousands upon thousands of victims of this catastrophe, and as a responsible corporate citizen and being a member of the international community, we are doing the best we can to help the unfortunate victims, by providing them with the most basic need of shelter and food. By doing our share, we hope to make a difference in the lives of the people affected by the floods during this Holy Month of Ramadan,” said Mohammed Ali Al Ansari, Managing Director, Al Ansari Exchange.

Al Ansari Exchange has been steadily supporting relief aid activities for victims of natural calamities and other disasters across the globe. With a defined Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) policy, the company was a part of the UAE Ministry of Health’s initiative, and donated AED 7 million towards the construction and set up of ‘Shoukah Medical Centre’ in a remote area of Shoukah, Ras Al Khaimah. The company also extended help to the victims of the deadly floods in the Philippines as a result of two typhoons that ravaged the country last year, by launching a fund-raising campaign that involved automatic donations of AED 1 for every Philippine-bound transfer. In addition to charitable donations, Al Ansari is also active in supporting health and environment causes, having recently organised a blood donation drive in partnership with Sheikh Khalifa Medical City Abu Dhabi Blood Bank, and through its efforts to encourage conservation of energy and other resources among its staff.

Remittance industry poses huge growth potential amidst expected rise in Egypt’s growth rates by 6% in current fiscal year 

July 31, 2010

Al Ansari Exchange, a leading provider of worldwide remittance and foreign exchange services, has signed a strategic partnership with the National Bank of Egypt (NBE), the oldest and largest commercial bank in Egypt, in a move to further expand its network of correspondent banks and agents worldwide. The company also revealed that its focus on Egypt is being driven by the growth potential projected for the local remittance industry, with the country ranking as among the top 10 leading money transfer destinations across the globe according to statistics released by the World Bank, registering USD 8.7 billion in total cash transfers in 2008, an estimated USD 7.8 billion in 2009, and a projected growth of over six per cent for the current fiscal year.

Egypt-bound remittances from the UAE have been rising over the years, with the growing number of Egyptian residents in the emirates. Similarly, The UAE has also seen significant growth in money transfer transactions originating from Egypt and other fast-growing economies, given that 80% of the local population are comprised by expatriates from all over the globe. The inclusion of NBE to Al Ansari Exchange’ global partners is also expected to further strengthen its line-up of remittance and foreign exchange services offered to Egyptian nationals as well as Egyptian expatriates who regularly send money to their home country.

“Egypt has shown its economic resilience amidst the global financial crisis, and the continuous remittance flow in the country makes it a key market for us,” said Mohammed Ali Al Ansari, Managing Director of Al Ansari Exchange. “While the strength of our over 150-strong global correspondent banks and agents network allows us to provide enhanced services to customers who send and receive money from this major market, this new partnership with the National Bank of Egypt will further boost the level of services and products we offer our customers. Through the strength of our new partner’s nationwide network, we will be able to make our offerings even more accessible to a wider customer base in the country who are seeking excellent currency rates and fast and reliable money transfer services.”

Underlining its confidence in the growth of the remittance sector, Al Ansari Exchange has been undertaking intensive efforts to streamline its operations and growth its partner network. In addition to its newest partnership in Egypt and as a part of the leading exchange house’ efforts to achieve the targets it has set for the current year, which include opening a total of 100 branches across the UAE within 2010.

Established in 1898 with a capital of EGP 1 million, NBE plays a salient role in stabilising the foreign exchange market, having successfully pooled an adequate supply from the free market to meet its customers’ foreign-currency needs. Currently in control of 40 per cent share of the credit and debit card market in Egypt, NBE has been ranked as the 29th bank with the highest total assets, ahead of all Egyptian banks and in the 11th place among Arab banks. Today, NBE has an extensive network of 429 banking units all over Egypt, 631 ATMs 8,500 P.O.S., an effective international presence through the National Bank of Egypt (UK) Limited, New York and Shanghai branches and  two representative offices in Johannesburg, South Africa and Dubai, UAE, in addition to a vast correspondent network round the globe.