UAE-based Al Etihad Payments delivers a cutting-edge, secure, stable and internationally compliant payment infrastructure that enables money to move throughout the country more quickly, securely and efficiently.
In today’s episode of the ‘Start-up of the Week’, International Finance will talk about ‘Al Etihad Payments’ in detail, which is the world’s leading payments authority, delivering best-in-class payment solutions to its customers in the UAE.
Knowing The Company In Detail
Al Etihad Payments is the national payments entity created in 2023 as part of the National Payment Systems Strategy to develop and operate best-in-class financial markets infrastructure for the UAE.
The company has licenced over 150 financial institutions and payment service providers, by using its payment services, and has processed payments of over USD 200 Million across systems every year.
The key purpose of the company is to support the government’s objectives of a cashless society, national digitisation, and the Central Bank of the UAE’s objective of being a top ten central bank globally. For this, the company has enabled licenced financial institutions and other payment service providers, which deliver excellent financial services efficiently and without friction to all the customers in the UAE.
“Our focus is on meeting the unique needs of our customers in the UAE with cutting-edge solutions. We are a forward-thinking and customer-focused payments company with a growth mindset, constantly driving innovation to meet the rapidly evolving demands of the national digital payments industry,” Jan Pilbauer, CEO of Al Etihad Payments said.
The company’s strategic objectives are to provide innovative payment solutions, support a cashless society agenda, and enhance financial stability. For this, the company has implemented innovative, interoperable, and enabling payment infrastructure, allowing licenced financial institutions and payment service providers to further enhance customer experience through advanced payment solutions.
On the other hand, for safe, easy and secure transactions, Al Etihad Payments has launched an instant payments platform called Aani, which enables customers of licenced financial institutions and payment service providers to offer instant payment services to consumers, businesses, merchants, retailers, government and other entities in the UAE. With this app, customers can transfer funds up to AED 50,000 immediately and conveniently, on a 24/7 basis.
With the help of Aani’s practical feature set, users can send money right away to anyone, anywhere in the world, just by providing their phone number. ‘Request Money’ and ‘Split Bills’ are two more features of Aani that efficiently streamline different payment experiences.
Moreover, Aani supports QR codes, making it easier for customers to make cashless purchases at retailers.
“We’re going to be adding more features soon, like electronic cheques and real-time direct debit,” Pilbauer said.
Al Etihad Payments has been working with Magnati, Mashreq/Neo Pay, and Network International to enable Aani QR-based payments with merchants, with the goal of onboarding tens of thousands of merchants through these and other licenced merchant acquirers in the coming months.
NPCI To Ink Pact With Al Etihad Payments
Meanwhile, according to a PTI report, National Payments Corporation of India (NPCI) International Payments Ltd and Al Etihad Payments will sign a deal in Abu Dhabi to enable cross-border transactions.
An agreement will be signed regarding the UAE’s development of a domestic card scheme modelled after India’s RuPay debit and credit card stack, the report stated.
The agreement will be signed in the presence of India’s commerce and industry minister Piyush Goyal, who is leading a business delegation to Abu Dhabi.
The commerce ministry said in a statement that India and the United Arab Emirates will talk about problems and difficulties related to current investments in each other’s nations.
“The meeting will also review the outcomes achieved through the work of the Joint Task Force to date, and the two sides will continue exploring ways to facilitate investment in areas of mutual interest with the potential for economic growth,” the statement said.