Emirates NBD scoops three awards; named ‘Best Consumer Digital Bank’ in UAE for second year running

Press release

Published December 6th, 2015 - 08:38 GMT

Emirates NBD

Emirates NBD, a leading bank in the region, has recently bagged three awards at Global Finance’s Best Digital Bank Awards. The bank has been awarded the ‘Best Consumer Digital Bank in Middle East and Africa’ (formerly known as the Best Internet Bank Awards) in the UAE and ‘Best Mobile Banking App’ Middle East and Africa, for the second year running, in addition to being named ‘Best in Mobile Banking’ for Middle East and Africa in recognition of the bank’s pioneering role indigital banking innovation.

Emirates NBD has made significant progress in introducing a series of first-to-market digital banking services in the region, as part of its commitment to offer customers innovative and convenient banking solutions that match their lifestyles and needs. The bank is the first in the Middle East, Asia and Africa to offer a ‘Mobile Cheque Deposit’ facility to its Private and Priority banking customers, in addition to ‘Mobile Queuing Ticket’ service, both via its mobile banking app. The bank’s next generation self-service banking offerings such as DirectRemit, Emirates NBD mePay, and ‘Shake n Save’ have also received overwhelming customer response.

Commenting on the award, Abdulla Qassem, Group Chief Operating Officer – Emirates NBD, said: “It is a real honour to receive multiple recognition from Global Finance’s for our pioneering efforts indriving digital channel development and adoption in the UAE’s retail banking sector. The bank has invested smartly in technology innovation to transform the customer experience, and I can proudly say we have created the benchmark in retail banking, at par with some of the most advanced banks globally, both in terms of innovation and business development.”

Global Finance’s Best Digital Bank Awards are the undisputed authority on the world’s leading digital banks. Now in their 16th year, these awards have become the most prestigious honour in the industry as a trusted standard of excellence for the global financial community. Winners are chosen among entries evaluated by a world-class panel of judges at Infosys, a global leader in consulting, technology and outsourcing.

Suvo Sarkar, Senior Executive Vice President & Group Head – Retail Banking and Wealth Management, Emirates NBD commented, “Emirates NBD is a clear leader in the UAE retail banking space - our focus on technology innovation and adoption to create self-service digital-only products has created a new paradigm in the way people bank. As a result of our multichannel transformation, today over 80 per cent of all financial transactions and requests are done through digital channels and this ratio continues to increase. Online and mobile banking customers represent 40 per cent of the bank’s active customer base, a number which is poised to grow further as we continue to innovate to offer our customers an enriched banking experience.”

Emirates NBD is the only bank in the UAE to offer e-payment capabilities through all bank channels for over 25 major service providers, varying from telecom, utilities, transportation, card schemes, and education sectors, among others. With Emirates NBD’s online and mobile banking channels, customers can perform over 100 transactions including request for new products and services. One third of the bank’s active customer base use mobile and online banking regularly. In addition, one out of every two customers using the online banking services is also taking advantage of the superior mobile banking platform.

The bank’s superior mobile banking platform is consistently ranked #1 in the Finance category in UAE App Store, with an average of 4.5 stars/5 stars in customer satisfaction and over 600,000 downloads. Emirates NBD’s mobile banking applications are available through all the main mobile operating systems like iOS, Android, Windows 8 and BlackBerry, both for smart phones and tablets. The bank’s online banking service is compatible with the latest internet browsers, powered with the highest performance.

Background Information

Emirates NBD

Emirates NBD, the leading banking group in the region, was formed on 19 June 1963, when H.H. Late Sheikh Rashid bin Saeed Al Maktoum signed the Charter of Incorporation of the National Bank of Dubai (NBD) which became the first National Bank established in Dubai and the United Arab Emirates (UAE). With the blessings of H.H. Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice President and Prime Minister of the UAE and Ruler of Dubai, NBD merged with Emirates Bank International (EBI) on 06 March 2007, to form Emirates NBD, the largest banking group in the region by assets. On 16 October 2007, the shares of Emirates NBD were officially listed on the Dubai Financial Market (DFM). The merger between EBI and NBD to create Emirates NBD, became a regional consolidation blueprint for the banking and finance sector as it combined the second and fourth largest banks in the UAE to form a banking champion capable of delivering enhanced value across corporate, retail, private, Islamic and investment banking throughout the region.