UAE residents are paying down debts and remitting money more regularly, as their perceptions of their financial wellbeing improve, said yallacompare, a top leading comparison site for financial products in the Middle East.

During the first quarter of 2019, yallacompare’s Consumer Confidence Tracker Q1 2019 polled more than 1000 UAE residents on the state of their finances and attitudes towards work. Similarly sized surveys are conducted throughout each quarter of the year.

The proportion of respondents sending money home regularly grew to 87.5 per cent in Q1 2019, an increase of 3.3 per cent percentage points over Q4 2018. There was also a noticeable increase in those remitting between Dh1,000 ($272) and Dh1,999 per month (37.3 per cent in Q1 2019 compared with 33.0 per cent in Q4).

Those saying they have more credit card debt than a year ago dropped to 18.2 per cent in Q1, down from 21.9 per cent in Q4 2018 and the lowest figure since VAT was introduced at the beginning of 2018.

Those saying they have more loan debt than a year ago also fell, from 22.5 per cent in Q4 2018 to 18.8 per cent in Q1 2019 – the lowest figure since Q2 2018.

Overall, the number feeling more confident about their finances compared to twelve months ago was 21 per cent in Q1, a little below Q4 2018 though well above the 14.4 per cent figure recorded in Q3 2018. The proportion feeling less confident about their finances than a year ago was 38.3 per cent in Q1 2019, compared with 41.2 per cent in Q4 2018 and 52.6 per cent in Q3 2018.

When it comes to residents’ ability to save, 44 per cent said they’re saving a portion of their salary every month. At the same time, 53.6 per cent said they’re saving less than they were a year ago, while just 17.6 per cent are saving more.

“The results of the Q1 survey show that we’re feeling more positive about our financial health than six months ago and we’re putting more effort into paying off loans and cards,” said Jon Rawling, CFO, yallacompare.

“Nevertheless, that still leaves nearly 40 per cent of respondents who are less confident about their finances than a year ago and more than half that say they are saving less. We’ll be watching future survey results closely to see if these two figures improve.” – TradeArabia News Service