Money-changing, allied services and products biz back with a bang

The fortunes of money changers have seen a dramatic recovery even as they reinvent themselves

Orient Exchange’s volumes have hit $350 million this year, back to its pre-pandemic level. “We are where we are even as delays in issuing visas continue to affect travel to the United States and the United Kingdom, and airfares are soaring,” says Bhaskar Rao, managing director (MD) of the Indian operations of Dubai’s Orient Exchange LLC, a leading money changer.

Presumably, had it been business as usual, Orient would have been in a much sweeter spot. At the systemic level, out-bound Indian travellers carried a total of more than $4 billion, twice the 2021 volumes. (Each individual is allowed to carry