Emirates NBD, one of the leading banks in the region, has signed an agreement with the Community Development Authority (CDA) to solidify its strategic, long-term commitment to people with disabilities, and offer various solutions.

The agreement is part of a series of initiatives launched under the bank’s #TogetherLimitless platform, launched in 2015, that aims to offer solutions to the issues faced by people with disabilities, said a statement from Emirates NBD.  
The platform’s initiatives include: adaption of branches to be more accessible to people with disabilities; Workplace Inclusion – an initiative to recognise talent, hire and train more people with disabilities; and a long-term partnership with Manzil’s Pride (people receiving independence and dignity through empowerment), it stated.

Under the deal, Emirates NBD will offer all Sanad card holders1 (privilege access card developed by CDA for people with disabilities) the ‘Beyond from Personal Banking’ package, exempt of minimum salary. Account holders can benefit from the preferential transaction rates, insurance premium waivers and lifestyle rewards that are featured in the package, it stated.

Husam Al Sayed, group chief human resource officer at Emirates NBD, said: “As a home grown organisation, we strongly believe that our action-oriented commitment to supporting people with disabilities is a duty and privilege.”

“We feel that synergising the resources and knowledge of both the public and private sector will result in a sustainable long-term improvement in the integration of people with disabilities into the community,” he said.

Suvo Sarkar, senior executive vice president and group head, retail banking and wealth management, Emirates NBD, added: “We are incredibly proud to offer our proposition to all Sanad cardholders as a step towards financial inclusion for people with disabilities in the UAE.”

“We are very certain that they will gain numerous financial benefits from the package. Going forward, we will remain committed to understanding the banking needs of people with disabilities and seek to attain their complete financial inclusion in all our banking products and services,” he added.-TradeArabia News Service