UAE Banking Sector Transfers Exceed AED 1.5 Trillion In January 2024, Reports CBUAE

The UAE banking sector witnessed a significant surge in the value of transactions executed through the UAE Funds Transfer System (UAEFTS) in January 2024, as reported by the Central Bank of the UAE (CBUAE). The total value of these transactions reached approximately AED1.512 trillion, marking a notable annual increase of 24.4 percent from the AED1.215 trillion recorded in January 2023.

This substantial growth in transaction value underscores the robustness and increasing reliance on the UAEFTS, a system that has been at the forefront of facilitating instant money transfers between banks and their customers since its inception in August 2001. The breakdown of January 2024's transactions reveals that AED973.6 billion were interbank transfers, while transfers between bank customers accounted for AED538.9 billion.

Additionally, the Central Bank's latest statistics highlight other aspects of banking operations within the same period. The Image Cheque Clearing System (ICCS), another critical component of the UAE's banking infrastructure, processed cheques worth AED109.4 billion across 1.965 million cheques in January 2024. This represents an 11.8 percent increase in value and a 7.7 percent rise in volume compared to the same month in the previous year.

The dynamics of cash handling within the banking sector also saw changes, with cash deposits at the central bank reaching AED15.466 billion and cash withdrawals amounting to approximately AED14.9 billion during January 2024.

These figures not only reflect the growing confidence in the UAE's banking systems but also highlight the sector's capacity to handle substantial financial transactions efficiently. The continuous development and enhancement of systems like UAEFTS and ICCS are crucial for maintaining this upward trajectory, ensuring that the UAE remains a key player in the global financial landscape.

With inputs from WAM