Economists have called on authorities to tighten controls on foreign workers’ remittances and irregular money transfer centers in neighborhoods. Foreign workers are urged to switch to electronic transactions instead.
They stressed the importance of getting rid of cover-up trade, which allows foreigners to do business and transfer huge amounts of money to their countries.
Remittances of foreign workers in the Kingdom reportedly rose to SR86.3 billion during the first seven months of 2013, up by more than 14.9 percent compared to the same period in 2012.
According to economists, the upward trend in foreign workers’ remittances was attributed to labor market reforms in the Kingdom.
Economic adviser Fadul Al-Bouaneen said the flow of foreign remittances, estimated at SR130 billion a year, could be curbed by reducing the volume of foreign employment by at least 30 percent.
He also said that money transfers from "mobile banks" had to be eliminated.
He said that irregular money transfer centers, or “mobile banks,” compete with regular banks by providing competitive transfer rates with very low commission and prompt delivery of cash.
Walid Al-Sibaie, an economic analyst, said that the Ministry of Finance and the Saudi Arabian Monetary Agency (SAMA) were responsible for keeping an eye on expat workers’ irregular financial transactions. They could crack down on such transfers by verifying the monthly salaries of expat workers with the amount of their remittances.
Experts want remittances curbed
