· Bank is ChekFIN’s first founding industry partner from the Middle East

Dubai: Emirates NBD, a leading banking group in the MENAT (Middle East, North Africa and Turkey) region, has announced its association with ASEAN Financial Innovation Network (AFIN), as a member and as an industry partner to support its global fintech registry, ChekFIN.

Created in collaboration with Boston Consulting Group FinTech Control Tower (BCG FCT) and Temasek-founded Affinidi, ChekFIN was officially launched at the Singapore FinTech Festival 2021. Scheduled to go live on 01 December 2021, the registry will provide a decentralised, open standard, and trust-based solution enabling and empowering financial institutions to reduce the amount of time spent searching for and assessing a suitable partner firm. The platform includes unique features such as a comprehensive taxonomy and tagging system to facilitate easy search, easy access to aggregated and relevant information on firms in a single place. A key feature of the platform is the use of Verifiable Credentials (VCs), cryptographically secure digital certificates, to assess the digital reputation and credibility of various FinTechs. Emirates NBD is one of the ten global pioneer industry partners working with APIX to issue the first set of VCs.

The presence of a global registry where consolidated information on vetted FinTechs is readily available, will benefit financial institutions by bringing greater connectivity in the Fintech ecosystem, thus enabling smoother and more reliable collaborations.

Commenting on the announcement, Miguel Rio Tinto, Group Chief Information Officer, Emirates NBD said, “As a leading banking group in the region, Emirates NBD is always looking for opportunities for innovative collaboration in and outside the region. Exploring

partnerships with FinTechs can have a big impact on enhancing the financial services industry through their innovative capabilities, business models and cutting-edge solutions that can help enhance customer experience. However, onboarding FinTech partners comes with its set of complex challenges including a long lead time and regulatory and compliance hurdles. We are delighted to support AFIN, for its ground-breaking new platform, which acts as a credible registry of FinTech firms.”

He added, “As we continue to lead innovation in digital banking in the region, we see this as an important milestone in our long-term digital strategy. We will continue to contribute to the growth of the FinTech start-up ecosystem and pave the way for more collaborations between financial institutions and FinTechs across the globe.”

Sopnendu Mohanty, Chief FinTech Officer of the Monetary Authority of Singapore, said, "Emirates NBD joining ChekFIN as a pioneer partner from the MENA region shows their transformational approach in engaging with FinTechs and innovation enablers. As a pioneer partner, it will contribute to the development of this new game-changing engagement mode, leading to accelerated and sustainable innovation."

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About Emirates NBD

Emirates NBD (DFM: Emirates NBD) is a leading banking group in the MENAT (Middle East, North Africa and Turkey) region with a presence in 13 countries, serving over 14 million customers. As on 30th September 2021, total assets were AED 699 Billion, (equivalent to approx. USD 190 Billion). The Group has operations in the UAE, Egypt, India, Turkey, 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 906 branches and 4,084 ATMs / SDMs.

Emirates NBD Group serves customers, businesses, governments and institutions with a range of financial 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 94% of all financial transactions and requests conducted outside of its branches. The Group also operates E20., a digital business bank for entrepreneurs and SMEs and Liv., the lifestyle digital bank for millennials. Emirates NBD is an active participant and supporter of the UAE’s main development and sustainability initiatives, including financial literacy and the inclusion of people with disabilities. Emirates NBD Group is a Premier Partner and the Official Banking Partner for Expo 2020 Dubai.

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