Digital Financial Services LLC, a joint venture of Etisalat and Noor Bank, acquired earlier this year by Dubai Islamic Bank, has partnered with MoneyGram to offer international remittance services in the UAE.
With this partnership, eWallet customers can make international money transfers in real-time to friends and family in over 200 countries and territories worldwide through an expansive network of mobile wallet operators, bank account deposit services, and over 350,000 walk-in locations.
Regulated and licensed by the Central Bank of the UAE, eWallet is a revolutionary digital payment service aimed at empowering the UAE residents with safe, convenient and flexible payment solutions through an easy-to-use eWallet mobile app.
Unlike other mobile wallets and payment apps, a unique feature of eWallet is that there is no need to have a bank account, credit or debit card to do digital payments. Customers need a valid Emirates ID and a UAE mobile number to open an eWallet account. Once registered, users can instantly top-up their wallet balance and start sending and receiving money between mobile phones, transfer to own or third-party bank accounts, and do merchant payments, bill payments, and mobile recharges. In addition to sending money globally through MoneyGram, users can also withdraw cash from their wallets by visiting the nearest MoneyGram agent location.
Commenting on the partnership, Ahmed Al Awadi, Chairman of Digital Payment Services, said: “eWallet continues to be an innovative solution that uplifts the way UAE residents conduct financial transactions today. Our partnership with MoneyGram will further enrich our consumers with the state-of-the-art customer service experience which MoneyGram is renowned for and will boost our future expansion plans.”
“Etisalat has digitally transformed its business to adopt to the increasingly tech-savvy lifestyles of its customers, which is an extremely diverse population as the UAE is home to over 200 different nationalities that comprise one of the world’s highest percentage of immigrants,” said Grant Lines, Chief Revenue Officer at MoneyGram. “We’re excited about how this partnership will help accelerate digital growth as we bring our leading customer-centric capabilities to reach more people in the third biggest outward remittance country in the world.”
Etisalat and Noor Bank have brought their key strengths in technology, banking, marketing, distribution networks, and superior digital experience to launch this new service in the UAE. The partnership is in line with the UAE Vision 2021 of creating smart knowledge economies that will enable a shift to a cashless economy.
