The first multi-app banking card combining payment and contactless transit in the Middle East

Dubai, 14 May 2013 - Emirates NBD, a leading bank in the region, and Gemalto (Euronext NL0000400653 GTO), the world leader in digital security, today jointly celebrated the success of the world class Go4it card product. The successful partnership between Emirates NBD and Gemalto, was commemorated at an award ceremony, which took place alongside Dubai's Cards & Payment conference on May 14th 2013. The Go4it card, the first-of-its-kind in the Middle East, is a unique all-in-one banking card combining both payment and contactless transit functionalities for seamless access to Dubai's RTA public transport network.

Leveraging Emirates NBD's innovative approach and Gemalto's advanced contactless technology, the bank's Go4it card portfolio has proved a remarkable success since its launch at the end of 2011 and now accounts for close to 10% of credit cards issued by Emirates NBD. A high percentage of Go4it customers are new to the bank as customers identify the product to meet their needs. Card usage rates have increased and end users have commented that they appreciate the convenience and uniquely privileged features offered by the card. In addition to reducing the need to carry multiple cards, Go4it also enables fully automated top-up for both the RTA and SALIK eToll applications, ensuring that users are never left without the means to access public transport or the road network in Dubai.

A Gemalto street survey* conducted in Dubai underlines the attractiveness of this multi-application contactless approach with fully 82% expressing a strong interest in solutions that combine payment and contactless transit eTicketing. This confirms Emirates NBD's detailed understanding of and strong capabilities to answer market needs and offer the most advanced services to its customers. 

"Go4it was a challenging and complex project, converging EMV and contactless transit, a very first in the region," said R. Sivaram, SVP, Cards Business Head at Emirates NBD. "Gemalto has rich experience in both EMV payments and transit access and was the perfect partner for us in our aim to be the first to market. They provided comprehensive support at every stage of the project development and we are very pleased to be celebrating this successful partnership today." 

"Emirates NBD is recognized as a true pioneer in financial services, and has consistently set new standards in the delivery of innovative banking products and services. With this technological breakthrough, the bank continues to deliver best-in-class products and an enhanced experience to its customers," said Emmanuel Payraud, Vice President of Financial Services & Retail at Gemalto Middle East. "We have worked in close partnership with Emirates NBD for many years and it is a privilege to have been involved in the Go4it card project. We are fully committed to supporting them with their future initiatives."

* Street survey conducted amongst 500 Dubai residents by Salience Research on behalf of Gemalto - Dec 2012.

About Gemalto
Gemalto (Euronext NL0000400653 GTO) is the world leader in digital security with 2012 annual revenues of €2.2 billion and more than 10,000 employees operating out of 83 offices and 13 Research & Development centers, located in 43 countries.

We are at the heart of the rapidly evolving digital society. Billions of people worldwide increasingly want the freedom to communicate, travel, shop, bank, entertain and work - anytime, everywhere - in ways that are enjoyable and safe. Gemalto delivers on their expanding needs for personal mobile services, payment security, authenticated cloud access, identity and privacy protection, eHealthcare and eGovernment efficiency, convenient ticketing and dependable machine-to-machine (M2M) applications. We develop secure embedded software and secure products which we design and personalize. Our platforms and services manage these products, the confidential data they contain and the trusted end-user services made possible.

Our innovations enable our clients to offer trusted and convenient digital services to billions of individuals.  Gemalto thrives with the growing number of people using its solutions to interact with the digital and wireless world.

For more information visit www.gemalto.com, www.justaskgemalto.com, blog.gemalto.com, or follow @gemalto on Twitter.  

About Emirates NBD
Emirates NBD, the leading banking group in the region was formed on 16th of October 2007 when the shares of Emirates NBD were officially listed on the Dubai Financial Market (DFM). The Emirates NBD 2007 merger between Emirates Bank International (EBI) and the National Bank of Dubai (NBD), became a regional consolidation blueprint for the banking and finance sector as it combined the second and fourth largest banks in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) to form a banking champion with the largest asset base in the GCC region summing up to AED 281.6 billion as at 31st December 2009, capable of delivering enhanced value across corporate, retail, Islamic and investment banking throughout the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) region;

Emirates NBD's vision is to be globally recognized as the leading and most dynamic financial services provider based in the Middle East.

Emirates NBD is a market leader across core business lines, it is the leading retail banking franchise in the UAE, with over 141 branches and over 740 ATMs / Cash Deposit Machines spread across the UAE. The Group is also a major player in the corporate banking arena. With a fast growing Islamic banking affiliated entities, strong investment and private banking services and a leadership in the field of asset management products and Brokerage services, Emirates NBD is well positioned to grow and deliver outstanding value to its shareholders, customers, and employees.

As a socially responsible corporation

© Press Release 2013