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Finding it Difficult to Save and Send Money Home ?

Dubai approved cryptocurrency exchange to provide less fee to free transfer of money for UAE migrant workers.

Dubai and the rest of UAE will soon open one of the three approved or licensed cryptocurrency exchange platforms to operate in the desert tourist nation. This is a boost for financial inclusion for millions of foreign workers who make up most of the region labour force.

As one of the six licensed cryptocurrency exchange by UAE government gets ready to launch it’s platform, migrants could use online wallets to send remittance home at a low to free fees within minutes saving them the stress of long walks to banks and long stand in the queues in the high humidity of the region.

One of those, MidChains, is a crypto asset trading platform based in Abu Dhabi and is preparing to launch for trading.

Technically, the platform will be open to everyone. “There is no earnings threshold,” said MidChains co-founder and chief executive officer Basil Al Askari.

According to world bank, about 1.7 billion adults around the world did not have bank account as of 2017, more than quarter of the in India, Pakistan, Bangladesh and Nigeria. Many of these countries are among the top senders of migrant workers to the gulf, working in construction, tourism, and domestic work to send money back home their families.

UAE government data shows the 9 million population is made up of 80% migrant workers. Last year, the region sent $43 billion in remittances, making it the world’s second-highest sender after the United States, according to the Global Knowledge Partnership on Migration and Development (KNOMAD).

The UAE started the move into mainstream adoption of cryptocurrency last year when the Securities and Commodities Authority specified that anyone offering cryptocurrency assets in the Emirates must get licensed and comply with range of anti money laundering, cyber security and data protection laws.

At the moment six companies have been approved under the regulation to create cryptocurrency exchanges with two reaching the first stage of going live.