Backing for ‘safe payments’

The Foreign Exchange and Remittance Group (FERG), comprising of businesses engaged in money exchange and remittances, has highlighted its role in the successful widespread implementation of the Wage Protection System (WPS) launched by the UAE government.

WPS was put in place to safeguard worker salary payments by channelling them through selected authorised financial institutions and will cover more than four million employees when fully implemented.

FERG supported the UAE Central Bank initiative by bringing exchange houses on board to disburse payments as an alternative to banks.The group also had a major role in streamlining the process, establishing pricing as well
as establishing operating procedures.

“FERG was keen on playing a leading role in getting exchange houses to be a part of the WPS. We wanted FERG members and other exchange houses to be part of a conscientious initiative that would improve quality of employment for millions. Moreover, we realised that the WPS would exponentially increase in effectiveness if the UAE’s large unbanked market could be successfully reached through exchange outlets,” said FERG chairman Osama Al Rahma.

“We recognised that the unbanked market would suffer the restrictions of cash-only transactions. Not only would this hamper their life but also create issues of security because loose cash is difficult to keep safe. So we took the initiative to introduce payroll cards that can be topped up with funds, and are easy and secure to use. These have seen tremendous success, and have allowed a large number of employees to keep their hard-earned salaries secure even in crowded conditions.”