Makkah, Madinah are top spots for currency exchange activity

Currency exchange professionals in the Kingdom have increased over the years with the existence of millions of foreign workers, as well as the increase in Saudis traveling abroad and their growing demand for foreign currencies.
The currency exchange profession has been around in the Kingdom for hundreds of years, especially in the cities of Makkah and Madinah. Initially, the profession was linked mainly to pilgrims, but has been rapidly expanding since the mid-1940s. Today, the sector deals with more than 20 billion dollars per year, according to sources working in the sector.
While the profession has spread throughout various cities Kingdom-wide, the holy cities of Makkah and Madinah are considered the hub of the profession and continue to attract many pioneers.
Many individuals and families from these cities have been heavily involved in the field, such as Mohammed Subaie and Abdullah SubaiI, who came from the Qassim region to Makkah, as well as Ahmed Yaghlef from Alkhobar, the Al-Kaki family and many others.
Ibrahim Subaie belongs to a second-generation member of the Subaie family known for its prominence and professionalism in the money exchange profession. The Subaie family became involved in currency exchange 70 years ago in Makkah and has since moved their headquarters to Jeddah.
Ibrahim says the family chose Jeddah due to its proximity to Makkah, as well as its role as a growing commercial hub. In Jeddah, he says, money exchange activity occurs throughout the year, unlike Makkah and Madinah, where money exchange activities are more prominent during the busy Haj and Umrah seasons.
Ibrahim explains that the profession faced many challenges in its early days due to the lack of rapid communication and transportation methods available today. For many years, the profession was limited due to the challenges associated with identifying exchange prices and changes in exchange rates. These activities, he said, would take long periods of time. Furthermore, there were many challenges in terms of security, as transporting money could only be carried out using simple transportation methods and procedures.
In the last twenty years, however, currency exchangers have been able to profoundly develop and expand their activities. This includes being able to convert and transfer remittances of employees who have come from abroad to work in the Kingdom, as well as providing travelers’ checks through a growing network of banks and money exchangers. Such activities have come to see greater speed and productivity while completing transactions.
Said Mohammed Abdullah Subaie says that their money exchange activities spread from Makkah to Madinah and Jeddah, during which their work transformed from a family activity to banking-based activity. Cooperation between key partners and other exchange companies eventually led to the founding of Al-Bilad Bank, he said.
For those working in the currency exchange field, he added, the most important season is the pilgrimage season, followed by the Umrah season during the month of Ramadan. The Subaie business ensures having employees who are fluent in various languages in order to be able to communicate with pilgrims and conduct transactions more efficiently.
In Makkah, currency exchange locations are mainly found in the central district, while those in Madinah were located mainly around the Prophet’s Mosque. In Jeddah, most locations are found along Qabil Street and Al-Balad district, which still remains the central location for money exchange shops.
These locations are keen on making available all types of currencies, even exchanging less popular currencies, which has helped in expanding the customer base and attracting consumers from different banks.
For his part, Faisal Ahmed Baghlaf says that his father was one of the first individuals to work in the currency exchange industry in the Kingdom during the last century. His involvement in the field began during the 1940s and lasted more than fifty years until his death, he said.
Baghlaf says the most important accomplishment of his father was adopting his policy and strategy of expansion across many regions and cities of the Kingdom. He opened numerous branches of currency exchange centers, which were administered at first in Jeddah to locations such as the Eastern Province, Riyadh, Makkah, Madinah and Tabuk.
Said Khareesan bin Yaali, the general manager of foreign exchange company Ben Yaali, said that recent developments in communication have reflected positively on currency exchange activities, as they have allowed for more rapid identification of price changes and exchange-related data. He considers himself among the middle generation of currency exchange cashiers in the Saudi market, noting that his career first began in Najran before he moved to Jeddah and opened several currency exchange centers.
He also stressed that the recent organizational and regulatory policies approved by SAMA have led to the entry of new currency exchange cashiers to the market, noting that the Saudi market is large but still has room for further expansion.
He pointed out the Haj and Umrah seasons are no longer the only busy seasons in the exchange market, but that the holiday and vacation seasons also witness high activity levels with regards to currency exchanges and remittance transfers from expatriate workers in the Kingdom.
The role of currency exchange centers at the moment, he said, is to complement and support the activity of banks, particularly due to the ability of these stores to deal with all types of currencies and operate longer working hours than banks.