RIYADH, 4 June 2006 — As part of an ambitious expansion plan, Al-Rajhi Bank has announced the opening of two new “Tahweel Al-Rajhi” centers, primarily dedicated to the customers of the Eastern Province. The announcement of the opening of the new exchange & remittance service centers in Ras Tanura and Mubarraz was made by Sami H. Al-Rajhi, senior manager of Tahweel Al-Rajhi, here yesterday.
Sami said that “the new Tahweel centers were opened after a careful study of the demography of expatriates in Ras Tanura and Mubarraz, where foreign nationals from Asia, Africa, Europe, the United States and many Arab countries had been living.” “Now, Saudis or expatriates living around these two townships no longer require to travel long distance just to send their remittances to their families and friends,” he said.
The Al-Rajhi official said that the new centers would also issue draft checks in different currencies, remit funds, issue traveler checks and perform money exchange transactions besides facilitating remittance among local banks. The move on the part of the bank is to tap the remittance business. Foreign workers in Saudi Arabia remit over $16 billion a year to their home countries. This is 60 percent of the $27 billion transferred by expatriates in the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) countries.
Referring to the opening of the two centers, Sami said that “Tahweel Al-Rajhi was currently the fastest growing remittance entitiy in the Kingdom with 60 remittance centers currently operational at the moment.” “This is in addition to 42 Al-Rajhi bank branches, which accept remittance transactions,” said Sami, while referring to the bank’s commitment to serve remote areas of the country.
Tahweel Al-Rajhi also recently launched “Cash Online” service, which ensures delivery of funds within two hours. It has also introduced successfully a VIP Card for important customers, who frequently visit its remittance centers. Al-Rajhi, which ranks first in terms of remittance transactions, is one of the largest joint stock companies with a paid up capital of SR4.5 billion. It has also the largest branch network in the Kingdom.