Abu Dhabi- (November 3rd , 2010) - Lulu International Exchange, a division of EMKE Group, and the National Bank of Abu Dhabi (NBAD) TODAY launched My Card, the first co-branded payroll card in the UAE. 

Launching My Card is part of Lulu's aggressive expansion plans and NBAD's strategy to strengthen and expand its Ratibi payroll card services.

Yusuff Ali M. A., the Chairman of EMKE Group; and Michael H.Tomalin, the Group Chief Executive of NBAD, signed the deal to launch the co-branded, multi-purpose My Card at a ceremony at One NBAD Tower. 

Issued on NBAD's Ratibi system, My Card is 100% compliant with the UAE Government's Wages Protection System (WPS) guidelines, which seeks to protect employees by providing the Government a mechanism to track salary payments. 

My Card offer employers an efficient means to pay their workers, who in turn would access the funds with the co-branded NBAD Ratibi card. The programme incorporates into the banking system a segment of the population who otherwise would not have access to any banking services at all. Since the program operates on the MasterCard network, RATIBI cardholders can use the card at all Mastercard-enabled ATMs and merchants throughout the world.

NBAD Ratibi was designed to replace salary payments of cheques and cash. It is a multifunctional card that has no minimum balance or annual fees, but serves as a virtual bank account. NBAD today has over 400,000 Ratibi cardholders employed with over 2,400 companies in UAE. Ratibi gives the cardholder the flexibility of making cash withdrawals and access to a variety of electronic banking solutions including cash withdrawals through ATMs worldwide, and point-of-sale transactions for purchases at millions of merchants across the globe. , The cards can also be used for the NBAD Arrow service to remit money back to their loved ones in their home countries.

"We see great potential in the WPS market and are delighted to partner with NBAD in launching this unique facility. I am sure the huge "brand equity" and expertise of Lulu and NBAD will definitely help us in achieving our goals," said Mr. Ali at the signing ceremony. 

Suvo Sarkar, General Manager of Consumer & Elite Banking at NBAD, said: "Partnering with a strong retailer like Lulu to launch a co-branded variant of our superior payroll card will take the NBAD Ratibi programme into the next stage and will allow us to enroll more employers to use this convenient paperless system." 

"We expect tens of thousands of corporate employees to be issued My Card in the very first year," Mr. Sarkar said. 

Currently Lulu International Exchange has signed up with more than700 corporates for providing the wage and salary administration solutions as per WPS guidelines. The Exchange provides facilities like bill payments, Salik recharge payments, salary disbursements apart from regular services like money exchange and remittance facilities. 

Adeeb Ahamed CEO of Lulu International Exchange said, "The unique features of My Card will not only be a big hit with employers and management but also bring in more easiness for the end users. It will be our continuous endeavor to keep adding more innovative features to My Card." 

NBAD, which is an initial partner and participant in the development of Wages Protection System, is one of the top five banks in the UAE in terms of numbers of employers served.

"We have invested significant capital into building our Ratibi system because NBAD believes that electronic and card payments have great opportunities in the future. Added to this, the WPS system and the NBAD Ratibi platform are great vehicles to matriculate a large unbanked population into the banking system," said Ahmed Al Naqbi, the Senior Manager of Channels & Electronic Banking Services at NBAD. 

Lulu International Exchange which currently has four branches is expected to rollout six more by end of this year in different Emirates of U.A.E. Plans are also in place to expand operations into other GCC markets and India. 

- Ends -

About NBAD  
The National Bank of Abu Dhabi (NBAD), The Number One Bank in UAE, was incorporated in 1968 and is listed on the Abu Dhabi Securities Exchange (ADX), under stock code (NBAD).

Ranked as one of the top 50 safest banks in the world, NBAD currently operates across 13 countries on four continents.

NBAD has a network of more than 100 branches in the UAE in addition to cash offices that are spread out in remote locations to provide banking services to customers all over the UAE.  
The branch network is widened further with more than 370 ATMs through which customers perform a variety of transactions.  
 
Besides brick & mortar branches, NBAD provides 24 hour internet banking access through NbadOnline and NbadDirect, the SMS-based payment service (Arrow) as well as account access and personalised customer support through its 24-hour Call Centre.  
 
NBAD's overseas network stretches from Oman, Kuwait, and Bahrain in the G.C.C.; Egypt, Libya, and Sudan in Africa; UK, France, and Switzerland in Europe; Hong Kong and Jordan in Asia to Washington, D.C. in the U.S.A. Overall, NBAD has nearly 50 branches and 60 ATMs outside the UAE.  
 
NBAD provides its customers with a wide variety of financial services targeting all segments of the consumer and corporate markets in addition to fund management, brokerage, financial markets, leasing, property management and private banking businesses.

The bank is organised into various client-focused divisions. They are the UAE Domestic Banking, International Banking, Financial Markets, Corporate and Investment Banking, Abu Dhabi National Islamic Finance (ADNIF), and Global Wealth comprising of Private Banking and Asset Management Group, and the wholly owned stock brokerage company Abu Dhabi Financial Services (ADFS). The Bank's wholly owned subsidiaries, Abu Dhabi National Leasing Company (ADNL) and Abu Dhabi National Properties (ADNP) are part of the Corporate and Investment Banking division.  
 
NBAD is rated senior long term/short term A+/A-1 by Standard and Poor's, Aa3/P1 by Moodys and AA-/F1+ by Fitch giving it one of the strongest combined rating of any Middle Eastern financial institution.

Committed to the service of the UAE society, NBAD has a written Corporate Social Responsibility Mission, which forms an important element of the Bank's overall strategy.

NBAD is an award winning leader in the UAE and GCC financial services industry. In 2009, NBAD won the prestigious UAE Corporate Governance Award by Hawkamah, Institute of Corporate Governance; the Human Resources Development Award in Banking Sector from Emirates Institute for Banking and Financial Studies; Best Bank in the UAE in 2009 and 2010 from Euromoney; Retail Bank of the year from Arabian Business; Best Personal Loan in the Middle East from Bankers Middle East; Best Local Bank in the UAE from emeafinance; Deal of the year from Project Finance Magazine;   Best Company for Investor Relations in the UAE from Middle East Investor Relations Society; Corporate Finance, Structured Finance & UAE Deal of the year from Islamic Finance News; and Strategic Banking Web Award from the Pan- Arab Web Academy.  

The Bank was ranked in the World's 50 Safest Banks in 2009 and 2010 by Global Finance and recognised as a superbrand by Superbrands, the independent authority and arbiter on branding.

In previous years, NBAD has also won other prestigious awards such as the Sheikh Khalifa Gold Award, the Mohammed Bin Rashid Al Maktoum Business Award, the Dubai Quality Award, the Middle East Excellence Award 2008, ACN Arab Technology Award for the Banking & Finance, CIO Award of The Year, the Middle East e-Banking Country Award, the Outstanding use of IT in Financial Services Award, and excellence award for Best use of Technology from Banker Middle East. 

NBAD, The Number One Bank in UAE, is poised for further growth in line with its Vision - To be the Number One Arab Bank.  
 
 

For further enquires, please contact:
Ehab Khairi
Media & PR Manager
National Bank of Abu Dhabi
Tel: +97126111190
Mob: + 971508126799
Email: ehab.khairi@nbad.com
Web: www.nbad.com 

© Press Release 2010