Prepaid mobile volumes poised to soar ME region to grow by 88% in five years

Prepaid Summit: Middle East 2012

Conference, Expo and Awards Networking Dinner,

March 21 2012

Westin Dubai Mina Seyahi Beach Resort & Marina, Dubai

 

• ·         Global mobile money industry reaches revenues of USD 1.6bn in 2011
• ·         60m internet users and 80m mobile phone users in MENA
• ·         65% below 25 years to drive the region’s digital and mobile prepaid growth

Dubai UAE, February 28 2012: Prepaid cards have found their niche in the Middle East as the region’s population embraces a digital and mobile lifestyle, according to Francesco Burelli, Partner at Value Partners Management Consulting.

Burelli, considered a global expert on cards, payments and transaction technologies, is slated to present an exclusive research on mobile money at the upcoming Prepaid Summit 2012.

He observed that strong year-on-year growth in the mobile money industry has global revenues pegged at USD1.6bn in 2011 alone.

“Looking at the Middle East, the mobile money sector, which includes mobile banking, is developing rapidly. Our forecast is that the trend will continue at an average growth of 88 per cent between 2009 and 2013,” he said.

“The nineties saw the mobile phone turn from a luxury to a mass market proposition and this has enabled the launch of additional mobile services, including financial services. Today, mobile is a mainstream distribution and business channel in the financial services landscape.”

He also noted that the Middle East region hosts a large unbanked population made up of immigrant workers and young citizens, suggesting that these two groups have different needs of the services that can be provided through mobile and prepaid technologies.

Meanwhile, James Ratcliff, Editor, Cards International and spokesperson for the Prepaid Summit in Dubai said: “With almost 65 per cent of the population under 25, the Middle East has massive potential in youth-led prepaid services, particularly in areas like online spending, events, and gift cards.”

According to Ratcliff, strong growth is also expected across travel, general purpose, remittance, payroll, and government payments sectors.

The third edition of Prepaid Summit: Middle East returns to Dubai on March 21 with Visa International on-board for the third time in a row as the Summit’s Title Sponsor.

The one day event will see more than 200 industry experts, speakers, delegates, and market analysts come together to identify steps to create revenue models and build successful prepaid products in region.

Children under 15 now need ID card -Eida

Abu Dubai authorities have cancelled a decision to exempt children under 15 from having a national ID card and told their families to register them before the end of a new deadline on October 1.

The announcement by the Emirates National Identity Authority (Eida) follows a decision by the Abu Dhabi Education Council (Adec) that all children must produce a national ID card when registering for the new school year.

“Emirati and expatriate families of all children under 15 must apply to register their children with the national identity,” Eida said in a statement carried by the Sharjah-based Arabic language daily 'Al Khaleej'.

“This is a compulsory measure…they should do so before the end of the deadline on October 1 or they will have to pay delay fees.”

The statement said children who do not have separate passports would not be given an ID card, adding that applicants under that age need not come to Eida registration centres as applications can be submitted by their parents.

'Al Khaleej' said Adec’s decision applies only to public schools and the report did not mention whether such measure would be extended to other emirates.

NRIs, hold your remittances: Indian rupee set to fall again

With the Indian rupee appreciating almost 9 per cent in the past nine or so weeks, Indian expats in the UAE and elsewhere have been on the receiving end of the foreign exchange fight, with the dollar (and therefore the UAE dirham) getting clobbered by the now mighty rupee.

Today, one UAE dirham is fetching about Rs13.2 compared with Rs14.62 that it fetched on December 15, 2011, a decline of 8.9 per cent in a little over two months. While last year, the Indian rupee was among the worst performing currencies in the world – declining by 18.7 per cent in 12 months – the Asian currency has gained a lot of traction since the beginning of 2012.

In a nutshell, Gulf expats remitting money have been receiving lesser mileage from their dirhams, dinars and riyals, with most having to remit more of their hard-earned cash to meet fixed exposures in their home country.

However, despite the fact that the rupee has had a decent run in the past 67 days, analysts believe that the rally will, sooner than later, lose steam and that the dollar (and therefore the dirham) may once again trump the Asian currency in coming weeks.

According to Abhijit Chakraborty, Senior Vice-President of Institutional Equity at India-based Fortune Equity Brokers, the rupee could once again fall to below 51-52 levels against the US dollar – i.e., one UAE dirham might soon fetch more than Rs14.15 again.

“I think the rupee carry trade, which was essentially driven by liquidity factors, had taken the market up… I think that is going to take some pause, dollar index could revert back to about 80-81 and rupee could once again go to 51-52 levels,” Chakraborty said in a televised interview with CNBC-TV18, an Indian business news channel.

“The local unit [rupee] should soon witness some weakness towards 50 [against the US dollar], as the continuous increase in the crude prices will severely affect our current account deficit which is already expected to be at 3.5 per cent of GDP by March 2012, the worst in the last eight years,” adds Abhishek Goenka, CEO of India Forex Advisors, in a column in an Indian business daily.

With the oil price hovering close to $120/barrel, his comments may be bang on track in predicting an impending weakness in the Indian currency. Indeed, the rupee might be flattering to deceive as a reasonable share its recent strength is due to unsustainable factors.

The rupee’s appreciation is being credited to a huge sway of investments made by foreign institutional investors (FIIs) as well as non-resident Indians (NRIs) who seem to be taking advantage of the recent changes in regulations resulting in Indian banks offering them some of the highest interest rates in over a decade.

Besides the increase in NRI deposit rates that has reportedly resulted in a sharp increase in inflows, FIIs have pumped in more than $7 billion in the Indian markets since the beginning of the year. Both these factors are likely to slow down.

“Flows of this magnitude in the local markets do not seem sustainable on a month on month basis,” agrees Goenka. And if that is correct, expect more than Rs14 for your dirham sooner than later.

Short-term visit visa Fee to Oman reduced

Visa fee for short-term visitors to Oman has been reduced while the free visa period has been extended from 24 to 48 hours for cruise passengers and crew. In a decision expected to boost tourism, Oman has slashed the fees for short-term visit visas from 20 Omani riyals (Dh190.10) to 5 riyals (Dh47.50).

Visas for a stay of more than 48 hours and less than 10 days are classified as short-term visas.

The Royal Oman Police (ROP) has also extended the free visa period for cruise passengers and crew from 24 to 48 hours.

However, for Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) residents, the short-term visa costing five riyals will be valid for four weeks and can be extended by a week. The visit visa for GCC residents will be issued by all ports, including airports and border posts, and Omani embassies.

Shaikh Abdul Malek Bin Abdullah Al Khalili, Minister of Tourism, said in a statement that the amendments to the visa rules coincide with the celebrations of Muscat — Capital of Arab Tourism 2012.

House maid Visa in UAE

HOW TO SPONSOR A HOUSE MAID IN UAE

Unlike normal residence permits, residence permits for maids or domestic help are for periods of one year if the sponsor is an expatriate, but if the sponsor is local citizen then the period is two years. It should be noted that only individual’s resident and not businesses may employ maids or domestic help. Such individuals will assume the role of the domestic helper’s sponsor for immigration purposes, provided they satisfy the conditions stipulated under Article 23 of the Decree, namely:

• Have a monthly salary of at least AED 6,000.

• The sponsor has not sponsored a domestic helper or a housemaid for one year ending on the date the application is submitted.

• The helper is not related to the sponsor.

• The sponsor resides in the country with his family.

There are additional requirements regarding women who practise certain professions such as in the fields of medicine and engineering.

It is illegal to employ a domestic help who is on someone else’s sponsorship. It is not permitted to transfer the sponsorship of a domestic helper to a new employer, unless a period of at least one year has lapsed from the date the helper last left the country. This is pursuant to Article 63 of the Decree which states that when an employment is terminated, the residence permit for employment is considered void and that, no entry permit or new visa can be issued unless after the lapse of six months from the last date of departure from the country, and for one year for house servants.Ó6

6.Article 63 Federal Law 1973

The deposit amount of a housemaid visa for Dubai was recently reduced from AED 5,000 to AED 2,000, immigration officers confirmed. (as per Gulf news report)

Contrary to past rules, however, this deposit of AED 2,000 will only be refunded upon the housemaid’s return to her home country. In the past, the deposit of Dh5,000 was refunded upon completion of the medical fitness test and stamping of the employment visa on the housemaid’s passport.

Documents required for Maid Visa

• ·         Your own salary certificate and labour contract.
• ·         Your tenancy agreement.
• ·         Your passport (and a copy).
• ·         Copy of the maid's passport (and original passport with entry permit after arrival in the UAE).
• ·         Passport photos of the maid (4 should be enough but bring a few extra).
• ·         If you (the sponsor) and the maid are the same nationality, then you will need an affidavit from your embassy or consulate to certify you are not related to the maid.
• ·         AED 5000 deposit for entry visa. Changed to AED 2000 for expat sponsors. Deposit of AED 2000 required from Emirati sponsors remains unchanged.
• ·         AED 5100 for residence visa (annual cost).
• ·         AED 300-400 for health card (annual cost).
• ·         AED 500 for other fees (approximately). Add AED 100 here and there for urgent processing.

Procedures:

1. Go to authorized typist & get form filled up. Pay AED 110 + separate typing fee (which varies from typist to typist). If urgent, pay additional AED 100. 

2. Go to the General Directorate of Residency and Foreigners Affairs - Dubai  & submit all documents after attaching courier sticker for non-urgent visa. For urgent, wait for a few minutes and receive the employment entry permit.  You will have to pay a refundable deposit of AED 2,000 along with the application.  (The deposit was reduced from AED 5000 to AED 2,000. See news update)

3. Send either original visa or copy to your maid. If only copy was sent, then deposit original at DNATA Visa Desk at Dubai airport or at DNRD counter.

Applying residence visa for your maid

1. Apply for residence permit and medical fitness report within 30 days of the arrival of your maid's entry into the country. Visit an authorized typist & pay for either urgent or non-urgent form & submit to DNRD counter.

2. After stamping, take your maid for a medical fitness test  .All new maids will be screened for HIV, pregnancy, Hepatitis B, Syphilis, TB & Leprosy. The Hepatitis B vaccination which costs an additional AED 50 is given in 3 doses - immediately, booster after 1 month and booster after 6 months. If you keep the yellow certificate as proof of all three doses, then when renewing your maid's visa, you do not need to re-do this, as the vaccination and certificate is valid for 10 years.

Costs of Medical Fitness

• Normal fitness test costs AED  325 (AED 260 + AED 50 for Hepatitis B vaccination + AED 15 for courier and takes 5-7 working days to get the results.

• 48 hour service costs AED 420 (AED 370 + AED 50 for Hepatitis B vaccination). You can collect results in 2 working days.

• Urgent service costs AED 520 (AED 470 + AED 50 for Hepatitis B vaccination). You can collect results after 24 hours.

• There is also a 4 hour VIP service costing AED 740 (AED 690 + AED 50) but this is only for Al Safa & Knowledge Village employees and dependents. 

Visa and Emirates ID to be link in Dubai from April 1

Plans to link the national identity card to visas will be enforced in Dubai on schedule on April 1 after it was implemented in all other emirates.

The Emirates National Identity Authority (EIDA), which is carrying out a nation-wide ID project, said applicants would not receive their cards before their residence visas are renewed or issued.

It said those applying for an ID and residence at the same time must first fill an application at an EIDA registration office before they are allowed to have blood test, which is a pre-requisite for have a visa issued or renewed.

“The link-up between the ID and residence visas is now almost complete after it was enforced in all emirates except in Dubai,” EIDA said in a statement carried by the Dubai-based Arabic language daily Emirat Alyoum.

“This link will be implemented in Dubai on April one in coordination with the residence and immigration department in the emirate.”

EIDA said the link-up, once completed, would allow its registration offices at preventive medicine departments to handle at least 22,000 applications a day.

Dubai maids’ salaries double even as family incomes stagnate

Despite the financial woes of many residents in Dubai since the economic slowdown began in 2009, salaries of maids in the city have doubled.

Residents of the city complain that there have been no hikes in the past few years but the situation is very different in their homes.

The asking rates of maids these days are much higher than what is set by their respective consulates.

Recommended salaries for Indian maids is Dh1,100 as advised by the Indian Embassy, while new regulations from the Philippines say the minimum salary should be Dh1,400.

As per the Sri Lankan embassy, the minimum salary for Sri Lankan maids is Dh825.

However, the reality is different say residents.

Maids in New Dubai are far more expensive than this and nearly all of them ask for a hike every year, complain residents.

“I have more than doubled my maid’s salary in the last four years. While recession has seen us cut back costs on a lot of things, this is one cost that has escalated year-on-year,” Charlene Saldanha, an Indian resident living in the popular The Springs area told .

“The average cost of a maid in my household per annum is around Dh30,000. This includes the salary, the visa fee, medical costs, food, toiletries and airfare to home country,” she added.

Besides this, getting a maid from an agency adds to the overall burden. “The costs involved in hiring a new maid are exorbitant. The agency fee or the cost of finding a new maid, the cost of bringing her here, and to top it all, the fee we have to pay to the government, make it a huge burden.

“In the case of an existing maid, the government fee, medical and the increase in salary to retain the maid per annum are equally huge. So, all this takes a toll on the family income that has not seen any increase since [2009] recession,” she said.

“I got a maid from Sri Lanka in 2009 for Dh700. Since then I’ve never got a pay hike and lost my job once. I was lucky enough that I found another one in three months’ time. I’ve changed my child’s school so that I save on the fee but my maid’s salary has gone up to Dh1,400, exactly a 100 per cent jump,” said another resident.

Popular forums are full of residents complaining that they don’t know how much of a hike would be termed fair enough.

Many believe that the problem is more acute where both the spouses work and have a child at home. Residents also claim that an increase in salary does not result into better work.

“High salary does not always equate to better performance. I have learned the hard way with this one. I believe it's better to pay a housemaid at a fair/reasonable monthly salary ranging between Dh 1,500-1,800 a month based on experience.

“Obviously, one has to pay more if they have worked for you longer, have many children, larger houses, if the maids drive, etc. If they work hard, put in extra hours and babysit, then pay them a little bonus each month.

“I do this with my maid and she is so thrilled. I reward her hard work when I can. In other words, compensate extra work and initiative in that month. This prevents them from getting too comfortable in a base salary and gives them a reason to work hard,” writes a resident on the forum.

Another point of contention is that Western expats in the city pay their maids a lot more than other expats, which sets the market trend.

“Please bear in mind that Dh2,000 or even Dh1,500 is not the market rate. [It is much less]. These are salaries paid mostly by Western expats and the majority of the UAE population is not Western expats,” companied a pink-bunny on the forum.

“I pay significantly more than Dh2,000. However, at the time of renewing the contract she started telling me about her friends who earn Dh4,000. I made it very clear that I was not interested in what her friends earned.

“I did not think it was anyone else's business what she earned and that was between her and me. I don’t think she should be going round discussing it. She knew and I knew that she was earning well over market rate. If she wasn't satisfied and wanted to look for other work I would be disappointed but would support her. The issue has never been raised again,” wrote another resident on the site.