WITH no incoming foreign tourists and few Malaysians travelling abroad due to the Covid-19 pandemic, the currency exchange sector is surviving on remittance services, said operators.

Highly dependent on tourism, the sector has seen a 90% decline in business since the movement-control order (MCO) was imposed on March 18, such as in the case of Ex-Trade Money Changer Sdn Bhd owner Tajuddin Abdul Rahim.

Although money changers were allowed to reopen on May 4 under the conditional MCO, he said, business has been slow.

“Covid-19 has dealt a big blow. With no tourists coming in or going out, 90% of my money-changing business has dropped.  

“Only remittance (by foreign workers sending money back to their home countries) is able to bring in business now, but even that is not much,” he said, adding that remittance contributes less than 10% of the company’s earnings. 

This year would have been significant for the tourism industry with the highly anticipated Visit Malaysia 2020 campaign, which has been cancelled because of the pandemic. The government is now focusing on reviving domestic tourism for the rest of the year.

Kalifullah Enterprise managing director Abdul Razique said he had been looking forward to the campaign, expecting it to be a boon for his business.

Despite noticing a decline in business from January as news of the coronavirus emerging in China began to spread, he never imagined it would result in a full-blown pandemic crushing economies worldwide.

“Business was sluggish in January, but now, this is considered chaos,” said the 31-year-old, who operates at the touristy Pasar Seni in Kuala Lumpur.

He said he is using his savings to cover overheads.

“My profit barely reaches RM50 per day.”

He suggested that Malaysia learn from the United Arab Emirates – after a four-month lockdown, Dubai allowed foreign tourists in from July 7, provided that they return a negative result from Covid-19 testing done within four days of their flight or get screened for the virus upon arrival and stay in quarantine until they are cleared.

“Malaysia already has some of the best standard operating procedures. We could also learn from Dubai on reopening borders to international tourists.”

Iqbal Naina Muhammad, 57, who manages KL Remit Exchange in Nilai, Negri Sembilan, predicts a recovery next year.

“With five months left to the year, even if everything resumes as normal, we can’t salvage much. We’re only looking at recovery next year.”

The money-changing business in Malaysia recorded a turnover of RM73.5 billion in 2016, and was predicted to grow to RM80 billion in 2017. – August 3, 2020.