UAE: Millionaire’s Destination
The financial press reported that the UAE is one of the destinations most likely to see an influx of millionaires from the UK. Simon Parker at Holborn Assets told the press that enquiries at the firm from wealthy British residents were up by 35%, adding:
“This is not a slow leak — it’s an exodus. A growing number of wealthy Britons are leaving the UK and choosing the UAE and wider Gulf due to the UK’s increasingly complex and punitive tax environment.”
Revisions to the non-dom, capital gains, and inheritance tax systems are leading rich individuals in the UK to seek kinder pastures elsewhere – and the UAE’s forgiving tax environment is proving particularly attractive. Holborn Assets’ Robert Parker says that one shift is already apparent: the company is seeing more enquiries from people before they relocate, suggesting that financial planning is becoming even more strategic among the wealthy. “They want clarity on tax, pensions and long-term wealth — and they want it before they make mistakes.”
Recent analysis within the UAE itself suggests that expat residents are still keen on saving, but perhaps with more forethought. A survey from Toluna indicates that 57% of expats are starting 2026 with a resolution to improve their saving habits, perhaps driven by the fact that 54% of those consulted are concerned about rising living costs and evidently want to provide a cushion against any necessary belt-tightening. One in three told Toluna that they intend to conduct monthly spending reviews.
Spain: P2P Payments
Bank-backed peer-to-peer (P2P) payment service Bizum is becoming increasingly popular in Spain, rivalling systems such as PayPal and Venmo. Once linked to your Spanish bank account, your phone number becomes your payment ID. One of the few hindrances of this easy-to-use system is that it is primarily used within Spain, but Bizum has been taking steps to ensure that it becomes more useful cross-border, particularly between Spain, Italy, and Portugal. In the latter country, 30% of users are employing P2P methods for online purchases. Javier Rey, at payment infrastructure technology company Nuek (commissioners of a recent survey on P2P), says:
“Users no longer compare one bank with another, but rather their payment experience with that of any other mobile application. They expect to operate without barriers, in real time and transparently, regardless of the country in which they or their families are located.”
British Expat Takes on New Zealand’s Policies
Bob Newcombe, a British expat who emigrated with his wife in 1970, told the Daily Telegraph in January that the couple have suffered significant losses due to issues with their pension. Newcombe, a telephone engineer and fireman, also undertook some work back in his native UK, ensuring that he and his wife paid sufficient insurance contributions to qualify for the UK state pension. They also qualified for the New Zealand state pension, but fell foul of a regulation passed in 1938, which financial experts have described as “arcane.” This is known as “direct deduction” and means that if you are eligible for a state pension from another government (for example, the UK State Pension), that amount is deducted dollar-for-dollar from what you would otherwise receive in NZ Superannuation or a New Zealand benefit. Therefore:
- If your overseas state pension is less than your NZ Super entitlement, then your NZ Super is reduced by that amount.
- If your overseas pension is greater than your NZ Super entitlement, then you may receive no NZ Super at all.
The intention behind this legislation is to ensure equity across retirees by preventing someone from receiving more total state-provided retirement income than someone who has only lived in New Zealand. It is meant to coordinate benefits across countries rather than allow duplicative public pension entitlements.
So if you receive the full new UK state pension, you will have 85% of your New Zealand entitlement withheld if you are on your own, and all of it if you are living with a partner. Mr Newcombe estimates that he and his wife have lost around £52,000 each. He told the Telegraph:
“I couldn’t believe that they could do it. It was basically immoral and unfair. A Kiwi moving to the UK can get a full, indexed British state pension, but us coming the other way, we’re entitled to NZ Super and yet we have to pay. We live below the poverty income level of $54,000 (£23,421.50) a year. Our savings have dwindled over the years and we have had to take out an equity loan on our mortgage-free home of 30 years to survive.”
This situation is complicated by the fact that, like many British expats in New Zealand, the Newcombes’ UK state pensions are frozen. Mr Newcombe has taken the case to New Zealand’s High Court, and also to the UN.
Saudi Opens Up to All Foreign Investors
From 1 February, Saudi Arabia’s financial markets will be opened up to all foreign investors. Previously, only QFIs — those foreign individuals or institutions that meet specific criteria set by the Capital Market Authority (CMA) and are approved to buy and sell shares listed on the Saudi Stock Exchange (Tadawul) — have been eligible. From February, however, this requirement is eliminated, with the aim of improving market liquidity, although J.P. Morgan points out that many overseas investors already have access to Saudi markets.
Expats Complain About Thai Financial Crackdown
Thailand’s financial regulators have increasingly tightened the rules in an effort to clamp down on fraud and money laundering – but expats complain that these new measures are making banking next to impossible, with lengthy queues at best and, at worst, legitimate accounts being frozen. Thai nationals have also complained that the new rules are making it extremely hard to open business accounts. Financial commentators say that Thai banks have become over-defensive, adopting a “restrict first and question later” approach. It is to be hoped that this over-correction will be refined in future.