Dubai Islamic Bank (DIB), the largest Islamic bank in the UAE, has launched an instant funds transfer solution for those wiring money to India.

The new service ‘DIB Express Transfer’ guarantees that funds can be wired to any ICICI bank account in India within 60 seconds and any other bank in India within one hour.

Developed with the aim of streamlining cross-border remittances, the service is set to allow DIB customers to instantly send money to other bank accounts in India.

The service is seamless and available at key customer touch points including DIB branch kiosks and through online and mobile banking portals. Other highlights include a zero processing fee until October and attractive exchange rates. Additionally, once the money is accepted by the receiving ICICI bank, customers can also then transfer funds to any other bank in India within one hour.

Sanjay Malhotra, chief of Consumer Banking at DIB said: “Many of our customers are non resident Indians (NRIs), so DIB Express Transfer will simplify the process of transferring money back home. Having a service as fast and efficient as DIB Express Transfer means customers can manage their remittances for planned or emergency transfers and know their money will be received immediately.

“One of the attractive features of this product is that even if a customer’s money ultimately needs to go to another bank in India, this can be done within as little as one hour, so the service really is giving customers an extensive reach across the country. We are confident that DIB Express Transfer will give people more comfort and security, knowing they have a service they can rely on.”

“At DIB, we are committed to making our services more convenient and reliable through a variety of touch points to continually meet customer needs in both the UAE and their home country. Providing innovative solutions through strategic partnerships, such as the one with ICICI Bank, is ultimately key to achieving this goal,” Malhotra added.

India was the number one beneficiary of financial flows in 2016, as remittances saw significant spikes during special occasions and after the Indian government took out of circulation some old rupee notes.

According to the World Bank, the UAE comes in third as one of the largest outward remittance markets in the world, with cash remittances estimated to have reached Dh77 billion ($21 billion) in 2016. The top beneficiaries of money transfers were India, Pakistan, Philippines and Bangladesh, with a 12 per cent increase from 2015. These numbers are forecasted to grow further, in the lead up to Dubai’s Expo 2020. – TradeArabia News Service