Al Etihad Payments & NIPL unite to develop UAE Domestic Card Scheme

Al Etihad Payments & NIPL unite to develop UAE Domestic Card Scheme

Al Etihad Payments (AEP), a wholly-owned subsidiary of the Central Bank of the UAE (CBUAE), and NPCI International Payments Limited (NIPL), have entered into a strategic partnership in order to advance the development of the UAE’s first national Domestic Card Scheme (DCS).

The agreement was signed by Mr. Saif Humaid Al Dhaheri, Assistant Governor – Strategy, Financial Infrastructure and Digital Transformation at CBUAE, and Mr. Dilip Asbe, Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer of NPCI, representing NPCI International Payments Limited.

Khaled Mohamed Balama

Governor – CBUAE “The FIT program, as well as the signing of this agreement, underscores CBUAE’s commitment to accelerating the digital transformation of the financial sector and bolstering digital payments, in line with the ambitions of the UAE’s leadership. The development of the DCS is an integral FIT initiative and an achievement in the payments space which seeks to support the growth of digital transactions and e-commerce whilst ensuring business continuity.”

As part of its Financial Infrastructure Transformation (FIT) program introduced in 2023, CBUAE’s launch of Al Etihad Payments aims to implement an innovative, interoperable, and enabling payments infrastructure allowing licensed financial institutions and payment service providers to further enhance customer experience through advanced payment solutions.

It is scheduled to launch in