Mashreq, one of the leading financial institutions in the UAE, has signed an agreement with NIUM, a leading company in cross-border digital payments, to expand the number of corridors for its popular QuickRemit service.

With this new initiative, Mashreq has become the first bank in the UAE to offer instant and same day credit facility to more than 30 countries across the world including the UK, Singapore, Philippines, Australia, Canada, Bangladesh and most European countries.

The partnership aims at leveraging the immediate payment capability of receive countries to deliver payments instantly. Mashreq can now deliver customer payments instantly to Europe through using SEPA Instant Credit Transfer, Singapore via FAST (Fast and Secure Transfer) and the UK using the Faster Payment Services. This is in addition to India and Pakistan where customers have enjoyed instant transfers since 2017.

The expansion of the QuickRemit facility comes against the backdrop of a growing remittance market in the UAE, as well as a rising need for fast and instant payment service. According to information from the UAE Central Bank, the outward remittance market in the UAE is witnessing significant growth with a 3 per cent year-on-year increase from Dh164.4 billion in 2017, to Dh169.2 billion in 2018. During the first half of 2019, outward remittances from the UAE stood at Dh80.96 billion.  

Subroto Som, executive vice president – Group Head of Retail Banking Group, Mashreq Bank, said: “Mashreq is envisaging a digital customer journey that is intuitive to interact and seamless to process. Partnering with industry experts in a key enabler in this endeavour and this partnership with NIUM contributes to Mashreq’s vision of seamless customer experience. NIUM has proven its cross border transaction processing capability and Mashreq is happy to work with them to deliver exceptional customer value and convenience to its customers.”

Rohit Garg, head of Business Banking, FX & Remittances, Mashreq Bank, said: “With this partnership, Mashreq now offers the widest network of instant / same day account credits from the UAE.  QuickRemit is a product that offers unprecedented convenience through secure digital channels supported with faster credit, and is economical. We continue our effort towards designing customer centric solutions which makes their lives easier.

Prajit Nanu, co-founder and CEO, NIUM, said: “Real-time payments are becoming a big draw for banks to expand their CASA reach and we are proud to partner with Mashreq Bank as they become the first bank in Middle East to offer RTP to their customers. Cross border payments to Europe and Asia will take minutes and not days as earlier. At NIUM we are very excited about the potential of this partnership.”

QuickRemit is part of Mashreq’s overarching strategy to introduce innovative products and services that offer seamless digital banking to its customers. Mashreq customers can avail the service round-the-clock through Mashreq’s online banking platform and mobile banking application, Mashreq Mobile.

Mashreq customers will be able to make instant or same-day transfers 24/7 providing them the peace of mind that the funds will be delivered with the urgency they might require it to. To remit money, all customers need to do is to log in into their account, go to money transfer and select QuickRemit, select a destination country and a beneficiary, enter the amount and confirm, and the money is on its way. – TradeArabia News Service