• Emirates NBD is also evaluating GSS for a potential strategic investment, to enhance a multi-year collaboration with the company and leading financial institutions to deliver best in class sanctions screening.
  • Strategic collaboration demonstrates Emirates NBD’s commitment to compliance, addressing demands for safer, faster payments and continued support for partnerships and technologies that enhance risk management capabilities, drive operational efficiency and demonstrate digital leadership in the region

Dubai, UAE: Emirates NBD, a leading banking group in the MENAT (Middle East, North Africa, and Türkiye) region, announced a strategic collaboration with Global Screening Services (GSS), the industry’s first network-driven sanctions screening provider, to deliver transaction screening capabilities across the region.

The announcement was made at the Dubai FinTech Summit by Victor Matafonov, Group Chief Compliance Officer of Emirates NBD, Tom Scampion, Chief Executive Officer and Co-Founder of GSS and John Cusack, Co-Founder of GSS.

This strategic collaboration marks a major milestone in a multi-year collaboration between Emirates NBD, GSS, and more than 30 global financial institutions, focused on designing and delivering the industry’s first sanctions screening platform. Built from the industry, for the industry, GSS provides a network-driven model that enhances sanctions screening effectiveness, improves operational efficiency, and reduces unnecessary customer friction.

The GSS platform, built on global industry standards, shared intelligence, and dynamic tuning, enables banks to detect risks more accurately, adapt more quickly to regulatory changes, and deliver safer, faster payments. GSS’s model strengthens operational resilience, supports compliance with emerging frameworks like ISO 20022, improving transparency across the payments ecosystem.

This strategic collaboration demonstrates Emirates NBD’s ongoing commitment to proactive risk management, digital innovation, and addressing evolving market demands. It reinforces the Bank’s leadership in setting new benchmarks for sanctions compliance, operational excellence, and customer trust throughout the MENAT region and beyond.

Victor Matafonov, Group Chief Compliance Officer at Emirates NBD, said: “At Emirates NBD, we actively seek partnerships that enhance our compliance framework, boost efficiency, and reinforce our role as digital leaders. GSS’s innovative approach aligns closely with our objectives of continually elevating our risk management and operational effectiveness. We look forward to collaborating closely with GSS to advance sanctions compliance practices across the MENAT region.”

Neeraj Makin, Group Head of Strategy, Analytics and Venture Capital, Emirates NBD: “The Emirates NBD - GSS partnership is targeting to transform our compliance ecosystem and unlock untapped efficiencies in our sanctions screening operations. The Emirates NBD Innovation Fund was created to invest in companies with strategic relevance to the Group and are shaping the future of finance. GSS’ innovative RegTech network approach is strongly aligned with our investment mandate. We are currently evaluating strategic equity into the business”.

Tom Scampion, Chief Executive Officer of GSS, commented: “We’re proud to partner with Emirates NBD, a leader known for innovation and commitment to excellence. This collaboration highlights the power of GSS’s network-driven model, developed from the industry, for the industry. Together, we aim to set new benchmarks for sanctions screening, delivering greater efficiency, higher accuracy, and a streamlined experience for banks and their customers across MENAT and beyond”

About GSS

GSS brings global financial institutions together to deliver higher standards in compliance, providing a trusted platform to enhance and exchange information. The first service delivers sanctions transaction screening, built on industry standards and improved processes. Services under GSS are easily accessible to everyone, delivering greater effectiveness, improved efficiency, and the reduction of friction.  

For more information, visit https://www.gss-rose.com or follow GSS on LinkedIn.

About Emirates NBD

Emirates NBD (DFM: Emirates NBD) is a leading banking group in the MENAT (Middle East, North Africa and Türkiye) region with a presence in 13 countries, serving over 9 million active customers. As of 31st March 2025, total assets were AED 1 trillion, (equivalent to approx. USD 272 billion). The Group has operations in the UAE, Egypt, India, Türkiye, the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, Singapore, the United Kingdom, Austria, Germany, Russia and Bahrain and representative offices in China and Indonesia with a total of 839 branches and 4,539 ATMs / SDMs. Emirates NBD is the leading financial services brand in the UAE with a Brand value of USD 4.54 billion.  

Emirates NBD Group serves its customers (individuals, businesses, governments, and institutions) and helps them realise their financial objectives through a range of banking products and services including retail banking, corporate and institutional banking, Islamic banking, investment banking, private banking, asset management, global markets and treasury, and brokerage operations. The Group is a key participant in the global digital banking industry with 97% of all financial transactions and requests conducted outside of its branches. The Group also operates Liv, the lifestyle digital bank by Emirates NBD, with close to half a million users, it continues to be the fastest-growing bank in the region.

Emirates NBD contributes to the construction of a sustainable future as an active participant and supporter of the UAE’s main development and sustainability initiatives, including financial wellness and the inclusion of people of determination. Emirates NBD is committed to supporting the UAE’s Year of Sustainability as Principal Banking Partner of COP28 and an early supporter to the Dubai Can sustainability initiative, a city-wide initiative aimed to reduce use of single-use plastic bottled water.

For further information on Emirates NBD, please contact:

Ibrahim Sowaidan
Senior Vice President
Head - Group Corporate Affairs
Emirates NBD
e-mail: ibrahims@emiratesnbd.com

Burson
Dubai, UAE
Email: emiratesnbd@bm.com