Al Etihad Payments (AEP), a unit of the Central Bank of the UAE (CBUAE), has partnered with NPCI International Payments (NIPL) to advance the development of the country’s first national domestic card scheme.
The UAE central bank’s launch of Al Etihad Payments is aimed at implementing an innovative, interoperable, and enabling payments infrastructure as part of the apex lender’s Financial Infrastructure Transformation (FIT) programme that was unveiled earlier in 2023.
“The FIT programme, as well as the signing of this agreement, underscores CBUAE’s commitment to accelerating the digital transformation of the financial sector and bolstering digital payments, in line with the ambitions of the UAE’s leadership,” said Khaled Mohamed Balama, the Governor of CBUAE.
“The development of the DCS is an integral FIT initiative and an achievement in the payments space which seeks to support the growth of digital transactions and e-commerce whilst ensuring business continuity.”
The UAE’s domestic card scheme is scheduled to launch in early 2024 and it will facilitate the growth of e-commerce and digital transactions in the country while bolstering financial inclusion and enhancing competitiveness.
NIPL was commissioned for this initiative following a comprehensive selection process that gauged the capacity of its solution to meet the needs of consumers and merchants, in addition to its ability to build an integrated financial infrastructure.
Jan Pilbauer, the CEO of AEP, said, “Through the implementation of best-in-class technologies, we are enabling the UAE’s licensed financial institutions to offer consumers, merchants and all other stakeholders of the financial system a more robust payment infrastructure.”
NIPL will operate the domestic card scheme and provide fraud monitoring and data analysis support.
