Exchange Houses compete to attract visitors

With several large names operating in the market, the expatriate or visitor has nothing to fear when it comes to buying or selling local currency or transferring money into or out of the country.

One of the oldest in UAE, Al Ansari Exchange is currently running the 'Al Ansari Rewards' promotion. This is in a win-back format, wherein customers can win amounts of money that they have spent through Al Ansari Exchange. Mr. Eisa Al Ansari, Vice Chairman, Al Ansari Exchange, said, "We have earmarked a total of one million Dirhams for this promotion, and we are sure that it will be received very well by the people. The rewards will be decided by a draw, and 35 customers can win upto Dhs. 35,000 each. The first draw will take place on the 15th of July. We are also the representatives for Air Miles, and so we are offering customers the chance to win double their air miles."

"Summers now mean increased business with the large inflow of visitors from especially GCC and other markets. This year we have noticed an interesting phenomenon; we are exchanging European currencies, which has never been on such a scale before. We have seen an increase in the number of tourists from the UK by 30%, other European countries by 10%, and the number of Russian tourists has gone up by 15%. This is an ideal time to run the promotion, as we have a lot of business in terms of exchanging of currency and receiving of transfers from foreign banks", said Mr. Al Ansari.

On behalf of Al Ghurair Exchange, Mr. Mohammed Khair Mahmassani, General Manager, said, "We have been experiencing a huge surge in the number of visitors to our outlets, especially the in-mall ones. Our outlet in Deira City Centre has been doing brisk business, mostly in converting currency for the many tourists who are here for the Dubai Summer Surprises season."

He added, "We are also running a special promotion for our frequent customers. One can sign up for a Smart Card that will be used to store all their information and also keep track of their transactions. Till now, each customer paid a service fee on four transactions, and the fifth would be free. Now, for those who opt for the Smart Card, the very first transaction will get them an attractive pair of sunglasses. The other features remain the same. We are sure that this increased business will enable us to offer more and more value to our customers."

The UAE Exchange Centre is among the leading exchange houses in the UAE and caters to a very large customer base in the UAE, through its network of fourteen branches in the UAE, of which four are in Dubai. It has the distinction of being the only exchange house with SWIFT membership, which provides access to several banks globally for telegraphic transfer of funds.

Mr. Sudhir Kumar Shetty, General Manager, UAE Exchange Centre, said, "There has been a noticeable surge in certain areas of business like currency exchange and this can be attributed to the inflow of tourists into Dubai for DSS. The individual remittances segment, has also been doing well, considering the vacation season. Although we have no promotions currently running, we do organise consumer promotions regularly, and the success of our previous promotions is proof of our standing in the market."

On behalf of Gulf International Exchange, Mr. S. Prabhakar, Accountant, said, "We have been seeing an extremely high demand for UAE Dirhams over the past two weeks. Since DSS began, this increase represents a growth in demand of over 20%. At our outlets, we have noticed a high instance of walk-in customers from the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia and the Sultanate of Oman. This increase is an amazing phenomenon, which goes to show that summers in Dubai is no longer a lean season as far as business and tourism goes."

DSS 2003 now progresses with Colour Surprises, to be followed by Sweet Surprises, Knowledge Surprises, Ice Surprises, Arts Surprises, Heritage Surprises, Adventure Surprises, and will end with Back-to-School Surprises on August 29th, 2003.