Emirates NBD introduces co-branded commercial card programme in partnership with DMCC and MasterCard

3 Min | 18 February 2015

First ever corporate card co-branded with a Free Zone in the region

First ever corporate card co-branded with a Free Zone in the region
DMCC's over 9,900 member companies will now have access to bank's tailored commercial payment solutions

Dubai, February 18, 2015: Emirates NBD, a leading bank in the region, today announced the launch of its first ever corporate co-branded card in partnership with DMCC (Dubai Multi Commodities Centre), one of the world's leading commodity hubs for trade and enterprise and the largest and fastest growing Free Zone in the UAE, and MasterCard. Tailored exclusively for DMCC members, the Emirates NBD DMCC commercial card programme is the first ever corporate card co-branded with a Free Zone in the Middle East.

The partnership was inked today at a press conference and product launch hosted at Almas Tower, DMCC's Head Office, where its Executive Chairman, Ahmed Bin Sulayem, and CEO, Gautam Sashittal, were present alongside Shayne Nelson, Group Chief Executive Officer, Emirates NBD, and Eyad Al Kourdi, Country Head – UAE, MasterCard.

The strategic partnership between the three market leading organisations gives over 9,900 DMCC members unparalleled benefits of an advance commercial payment solution, offering flexible savings and financial solutions. Other services offered by the partnership include convenient ways to pay for DMCC fees and other charges online or at designated counters. The credit card also offers flexible payment options, enabling corporations to convert DMCC fees and related charges into 3, 6 or 12 installments at a zero per cent interest rate.

Speaking at the launch, Gautam Sashittal, CEO, DMCC, said: "DMCC are delighted to partner with Emirates NBD to be the first Free Zone in the region to provide our over 9,900 members with a corporate card which offers attractive payment solutions and services tailor-made to the needs of their businesses. It is important to DMCC that we continue to grow the portfolio of products and services available to the businesses based in our Free Zone ranging from exclusive health insurance products to our single family office license offering, corporate governance initiatives, knowledge series events through to the Emirates NBD DMCC corporate card launched today. We anticipate a high level of adoption of this latest service."

The launch of the co-branded card is predicated on Emirates NBD's strong belief that the growing importance of Free Zones in the UAE would lead to strong demand for comprehensive commercial payment solutions tailor-made for SMEs within Free Zone jurisdictions. According to a report by Economic Intelligence Unit (EIU), the commercial card opportunity in the UAE was valued at US$ 16billion in 2013, of which only five per cent was paid using any form of commercial card.

Commenting on the partnership, Shayne Nelson, Group Chief Executive Officer, Emirates NBD, said: "We are delighted to be joining hands with DMCC to launch the first ever commercial card co-branded with a Free Zone here in the Middle East. The lack of comprehensive commercial payment solutions, combined with our ability to offer tailor-made financial solutions, makes us believe that this partnership is set to revolutionise commercial card programmes not only in the UAE but also the wider Middle East."

"Furthermore, we are confident that Emirates NBD's strong position as a leading bank in the region, combined with DMCC's stature as a globally reputed Free Zone, will provide further impetus to make this partnership a great success," Nelson added.

Other attractive offers on the corporate card include a reward programme, which enables customers to earn up to two Plus Points on all the corporate spends. The Plus Points can be redeemed for gift vouchers from popular merchants, frequent flyer miles from leading airlines, or Cash Back. Cardholders can also participate in Emirates NBD's flagship dining programme, Bon Appétit, which offers them exciting discounts at over 1,800 restaurants across the UAE, Middle East and Europe.

Speaking about the new product offering, Eyad Al-Kourdi, Country Head – UAE, MasterCard, said: "Commercial payment solutions continue to be a key area of focus for MasterCard. There are multiple benefits of cash displacement for all organisations, whether large corporations or SMEs, including convenience, increased security and significant cost savings. In addition, our new co-branded card will provide corporate consumers within the DMCC a range of attractive priceless offers and rewards."

The corporate card comes with an advanced online reporting and expense management tool, MasterCard Smart Data Gen 2 (SDG2), capable of generating reports relevant to corporate clients bundled with Expense Management Tool. SDG2 also offers the capability of extracting data and integrating it with the major ERPs.

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