Emirates NBD and Nium join forces to transform global cross-border payments in the Middle East

• Partnership seeks to enhance cross-border payments from the UAE to the rest of the world
• Emirates NBD to offer a seamless, instantaneous, cost-effective remittance experience to customers

DUBAI – 7 May 2024 – Nium, the global leader in real-time cross-border payments, today announced a partnership with Emirates NBD, a leading banking group in the MENAT (Middle East, North Africa and Türkiye) region, to empower customers with a cutting-edge global payments solution that will redefine the financial services landscape in the Middle East and beyond.

The partnership, subject to regulatory approvals, seeks to elevate the remittance experience with seamless, instantaneous cross-border transfers between the UAE and countries worldwide. Remittances from the UAE have been driven by a growing expatriate population and cross-border trade. By leveraging Nium’s payouts services, Emirates NBD offers customers real-time, cost-effective payment solutions with speed and unparalleled reliability.

Emirates NBD selected Nium as a partner, citing the depth of Nium's global network, comprehensive capabilities worldwide, and the advanced functionality of its platform, APIs and tech stack as decisive factors.

“Nium is focused on achieving ubiquitous reach of our global payments infrastructure,” said Prajit Nanu, Founder and CEO at Nium. “The Middle East is a key market for us, and we have been doubling down on expansion in the region. Our partnership with Emirates NBD extends our presence into the heart of the Middle East with one of the most trusted names in the region. As a cornerstone of the global digital banking industry, Emirates NBD stands at the intersection of trillions of dollars of money movement and through this partnership Nium looks forward to moving more money in real-time across the region and beyond on our global infrastructure.”

Marwan Hadi, Group Head, Retail Banking and Wealth Management at Emirates NBD, said: "As a leading national banking group, Emirates NBD has played an active role in introducing innovation in all our banking solutions. The partnership with Nium, a global leader in real-time, cross-border payments, will facilitate seamless, global transactions for our customers. This collaboration is a testament to the bank’s commitment to embracing cutting-edge technologies and pushing boundaries to deliver excellence."

Nium recently launched a white paper titled “Payments in the Middle East: The next frontier.” With trillions of dollars flowing through the region each year, and more expected as real-time payment adoption accelerates further, the result is a region that is primed for success and growth. The paper explores how this state of play came to be, the opportunities it presents, and what needs to be done for businesses of all stripes to utilize this new landscape.

The paper calls out a Deloitte report on the Middle East’s fintech industry that stated, “The way forward for the Middle East Fintech ecosystem to reach its full potential goes through regulatory harmonisation and development of strategic partnership between banks and fintechs.” This partnership between Nium and Emirates NDB is just that – an alliance to help further the region’s innovation.