DFCC Bank has signed a remittance partnership with Dubai-based digital payments firm AlfaNow, expanding the lender’s Middle East transfer network as worker remittances continue to rise.
The agreement is intended to speed up UAE-to-Sri Lanka transfers and improve reliability for Sri Lankan expatriates sending money home, the bank said in a statement. The partnership was formalised between Hasan Jaber, Group CEO of AlfaNow, and Anton Arumugam, Senior Vice President for Offshore Banking, Remittances and Business Development at DFCC Bank.
“Expanding our presence in key remittance corridors is about making it easier for Sri Lankans overseas to support their families back home,” Arumugam said. “Our focus is on ensuring that every transfer is fast, secure, and dependable, especially during periods when these flows become even more important.”
The Middle East remains one of Sri Lanka’s most important inward remittance corridors, anchored by large worker populations in the UAE, Saudi Arabia and Qatar. Worker remittances rose 17.5% year-on-year to $815 million in March 2026 and grew 26.5% cumulatively in the first quarter, according to the Central Bank’s external sector data released on the same day. The remittance line item helped Sri Lanka post a marginal current account surplus in March despite a sharp widening of the trade deficit on costlier fuel imports.
DFCC said the AlfaNow tie-up will continue to broaden cross-border services for Sri Lankan diaspora communities.
Source: Colombo Gazette.
