MUSCAT: Expat remittances from Oman dropped by 8.3 percent in 2019 compared to the previous year.

According to figures released by the Central Bank of Oman (CBO), OMR 3.5 billion was sent back to various countries last year, compared to OMR 3.8 billion in 2018. 

As the country continues to pursue its policy on hiring more Omanis into the workforce, there has been a significant drop in expat numbers in the Sultanate. According to the data from National Centre for Statistics and Information, expat workers dropped by 4.5% between 2018 and 2019. The number of expat workers in 2019 touched 1.71 million. 

According to top exchange houses, remittances from Oman this year, could further drop due to the coronavirus pandemic, job losses and salary cuts. Speaking to The Arabian Stories, Supin James, General Manager of Purshottam Kanji Exchange said: “Money Exchange depends on expatriate population and traveling population. The expatriate exodus has been happening in 2019 and 2020, which is one of the major reasons of drop of transactions.” 

The World Bank has projected global remittances to drop by 20 per cent this year, with the Middle East and North Africa expected to see falls by 19.6 per cent to $47 billion. 

“Coronavirus has made it worst and we expect Q4 of 2020 to be better as the market is returning back to normal,” James noted. 

Going digital
With costs of essentials including rents dropping and more customers moving digital, exchange houses are optimistic about the growth. “The costs are coming down and customers are moving digital for example our own digital platform www.pkexchange.com to send money has been a success story. The changes are evident and new forms of transactions especially online facilities are the new trend and transition always takes time, definitely 2021 will be much better and we are optimistic about the growth,” James added.