Etisalat money, Visa expand UAE transfers

Etisalat money and Visa launch expanded cross-border services

Etisalat money has entered a strategic partnership with Visa to broaden international money transfer and cross-border payment options from the United Arab Emirates. The collaboration is built on Visa Direct, Visa’s global money movement platform, and is intended to give consumers and businesses in the UAE more flexible and faster ways to send funds abroad. The agreement was signed at Visa’s regional headquarters in Dubai, underscoring a focus on modernising cross-border transfers in the region through digital channels.

The partnership aims to support a wide range of cross-border payment use cases, including person-to-person remittances and international payments by small businesses. By combining etisalat money’s digital financial services proposition with Visa Direct’s global money movement capabilities, the companies are creating new options for moving funds across borders through bank accounts, digital wallets and eligible cards.

Four new transfer capabilities in the etisalat money app

Under the agreement, etisalat money plans to introduce four international transfer capabilities within its digital platform. Visa Direct to Card will enable users to send funds directly to a recipient’s eligible card using the card number. Visa+ will facilitate transfers between eligible person-to-person digital payment applications, allowing senders to use a recipient’s phone number instead of traditional banking credentials for eligible transactions.

The partnership will also support eligible personal-to-business payments, enabling customers to move funds from personal etisalat money accounts to business accounts overseas. In addition, SWIFT transfers will be added as another cross-border payment option within the app, giving users an alternative, more traditional channel for international transfers. The expanded set of methods is designed to allow customers to choose the transfer option that best matches recipient requirements and payment preferences.

Focus on key remittance corridors and user choice

The initial rollout of the new capabilities will focus on key remittance corridors for UAE-based users. These include India, Egypt, Pakistan, Bangladesh, the Philippines, the United Kingdom and China. By concentrating on these destinations, etisalat money and Visa are targeting major corridors where personal remittances and business payments form an important part of financial flows from the UAE.

Executives from both companies emphasised the role of international money transfers in keeping people and businesses connected across borders. Etisalat money’s leadership described the partnership with Visa Direct as a strategic step in broadening its international payment capabilities and strengthening its position in the digital financial services market. Visa’s regional leadership highlighted that by combining Visa Direct’s global network with etisalat money’s digital platform, the collaboration seeks to offer consumers and businesses greater choice in how money is sent and received internationally.

Strengthening the UAE’s digital payments ecosystem

The alliance between etisalat money and Visa contributes to the ongoing development of the UAE’s fintech and digital payments ecosystem. By integrating Visa Direct-based transfers, app-to-app capabilities through Visa+, personal-to-business payments and SWIFT transfers into a single app experience, etisalat money is positioning its platform as a hub for both remittances and small business cross-border payments. This approach is intended to enhance speed, convenience and reliability for users who rely on international transfers as part of their personal and commercial activities.