Hopes rise as UAE Exchange starts issuing refunds to customers
COMPANY IS CURRENTLY UNDER DIRECT SUPERVISION OF UAE CENTRAL BANK
The UAE Exchange Centre has started issuing refunds to some customers whose transactions had been delayed for well over two months because of the crisis the company is going through. But there are still many who are yet to get any confirmation from the company on the status of their transaction, and if and when they are likely to get their refunds.
Sources say UAE Exchange Centre, currently under the direct supervision of the UAE Central Bank, has been refunding some of the smaller transactions it had taken on in February/early March.
It was on March 18 that Finablr, the parent company of UAE Exchange, confirmed that Central Bank had placed the currency house under its supervision and going through the books to “verify its compliance with applicable laws and regulations”. Simultaneously, UAE Exchange — the biggest player in the local remittances category — stopped all transactions.
Sources say that other affected customers should be receiving their own refunds, but added that no clear deadline has been set. Gulf News tried to get in touch with Bhairav Trivedi, who was confirmed as CEO on April 1 in place of Promoth Manghat, who resigned on March 16. But no official updates are available from Finablr on the status of refunds.
No respite as yet for many
Meanwhile, some customers who were promised refunds by UAE Exchange Centre are yet to see even a single dirham being credited back to their accounts.
Here’s what one unfortunate customer, Y.B., has to say: “I transferred Dh140,000 early March and the refund date keeps getting postponed. UAE Exchange actually cancelled the transaction and said it had started on the refund process.
“I had a written promise from them that the refund would happen by March 20. I have called them repeatedly and have stayed on the phone for one hour and emailed customer support. But there’s been no answer. There’s always someone or the other telling me to “wait until next week. When will I ever get my money?” He’s not alone.
“I sent Dh25,018.50, via an online transaction using the UAE Exchange app, to my wife’s account in Canada on March 10 — but it never got processed,” said T.M. “I have waited weeks but the money has not been received and the app keeps showing ‘processing’.”
“Some people are visiting UAE Exchange branches and waiting hours to get their money back.”