Oman UAE Exchange continues to pioneer new services and products and has grown from strength to strength over the last 17 years. Visvas Paul D Karra speaks to its country head Tonny George Alexander, the man responsible for growing the company to its present successful status
Oman UAE Exchange (OUAEEC), which started operations in the Sultanate in October 1995, was considered a trendsetter in the money exchange business since its inception. The legacy continues till today as the company sees a growth in its business with 38 outlets rolled out so far all over the country providing vital services to its customers.
A wide range of services and products on offer have also helped OUAEEC to become the preferred partner in the money exchange business. The company can lay claim to being the largest exchange company in Oman offering a wide range of fund transfer options across the globe. Augmenting its capabilities and services are the correspondent arrangements with several banks which enable faster realisation of funds.
Apart from this, OUAEEC acts as a collection agent for settlement of credit cards issued by Standard Charted Bank, and is also the largest supplier of foreign currency bank notes at competitive rates.
The company has different modes of funds transfer, like electronic fund transfer through the company's vast network of correspondent banks and instant electronic money transfer through Western Union and Xpress Money. OUAEEC is the only exchange house in Oman, apart from banks, who has connectivity to SWIFT, wherein STP (straight through processing) is effected, in highly automated banking environments. This enables the fund transfer in major currencies to be processed without manual intervention.
For conventional remittance services, OUAEEC has drawing arrangements with over 60 banks/ financial institutions all over the world for demand drafts and telex transfers. There is also a loyalty programme for regular customers known as the gold card which gives the convenience of a fast and error-free transaction.
Tough early days
All this is a far cry from October 3, 1995 when OUAEEC opened its first office in Ruwi with a few counters and nothing else. On the first day of opening, there was no inaugural fanfare and only one customer walked in. "It was a do-or-die situation as there was lots of hype, huge aspirations and I didn't know how to go about it as we were new to this market, although I had worked in the parent company UAE Exchange in Dubai for a number of years," says Tonny George Alexander, Country Head, Oman UAE Exchange, the man responsible for the growing the company to its present successful status.
Alexander joined UAE Exchange in 1988 and worked in various positions before being chosen by the company to go beyond the borders of UAE and start operations in Oman.
"One of the probable reasons why I was chosen was that I had experience in all areas of operations. I never said no to any job within the organisation, so by the time I came to Oman, I had a fair knowledge of how to run an exchange house, right from accounts, treasury all the way up to handling the IT side as well. One of the things I learned in school from a teacher is that education is a lifelong process. And I strongly believe in that. If I find anything new, I jump in and learn. That is one thing which has helped me in my life," Alexander says.
Although Alexander was new to Oman, soon he learned the ropes of the place thanks to a tremendous foresight and keen acumen. At that time, as per the Central Bank of Oman (CBO) regulations, there was cap of only five branches per exchange company. But Alexander had already identified more than five places to open a branch. In 1997-98, when the CBO allowed up to seven branches, OUAEEC opened its second branch in Ibra. At that time, no other exchange house was present in that place. In 1999, the next branch was opened and later, in Alexander's words, there was a spree of opening of branches when the CBO amended the rules and removed the cap on branches.
Referring to what made the company successful, he explains, "I can boldly say that we are the trendsetter. We changed the perception of what an exchange company is. When we came here, a lot of people asked as to why we need such a big premise because the existing companies had small outlets. We made a difference with our appearance, our dress codes and our way of addressing the customers besides introducing many new features and new products."
One of the products OUAEEC introduced was the delivery of drafts to anywhere in India at a very nominal cost of just one rial. "This became a runaway success," says Alexander, while adding that this subsequently brought more customers to them and helped the company to grow.
OUAEEC does not believe in budging or cutting down on rates or charges because nothing in life comes for free. Says Alexander, "We do not charge our customers high rate. For example, if the rupee fluctuates by 5 paisa per dollar, that will translate to a rial per lakh of
rupees. That is risky for our business. And if I don't charge this one rial to a customer, tomorrow I can go bankrupt. If I go bankrupt, that will affect the customers because people have trusted us with their money, and if they don't get their money, God forbid on any given day, then we are not doing a good job."
"So it is better for the customers that we don't undercut on our rates because we need the shock absorbing mechanism. Many people forget this aspect," Alexander adds.
The money exchange business has intense competition but OUAEEC has managed to outgrow its competition and is presently the number one in capital base, network, margins and profitability and in any other yardstick for that matter. The company completed 16 years in October 2011.
Service is what sets apart OUAEEC from its competitors, says Alexander, while adding, "We do keep a close watch on the competition as we have accepted that competition is here to stay. We cannot run away from that. There is a saying that if we have to hit a running dog, we have to throw the stone a few yards ahead. If we have to conquer the business we have to be ahead of the competition. But for us, competition is not the driving force; it is one of the factors. It is the quest or urge to give a better service to the customers that helps us to constantly innovate in our products and services." OUAEEC was chosen as a Superbrand for the last three consecutive years, which showcases the brand strength of the company. Augmenting the company's position, Oman Observer consumer survey ranked OUAEEC as the 1st among Exchange Houses and 7th among "180 Greatest Brands in Oman". This is no doubt the outcome of the excellent leadership of Alexander, who has been recognised as one of the "Top Business Leaders" in the country.
Apart from the responsibility of OUAEEC, Alexander is also the chairman of the board of directors of Indian Schools in Oman, where he has been instrumental in guiding the board to strike a balance between the aspirations of the students and parents and the school management. Whenever, Alexander has spare time, he spends it with his family. He is also a voracious reader having consumed books on religion, philosophy, business and biographies depending upon his mood.
© Oman Economic Review 2012
