Emirates NBD, a leading bank in the region, has launched the Emirates NBD GlobalCash card, a multi-currency travel card in partnership with Mastercard, a leading technology company in the global payments industry.

With this, Emirates NBD becomes the first UAE bank to offer this service to its customers.

Powered by Mastercard Prepaid Management Services, the Emirates NBD GlobalCash card is the most advanced platinum multi-currency prepaid programme in the market, with the maximum number of currency wallets in the UAE and Mena region.

The card works like a General Purpose Reloadable (GPR) card with dirhams while in the UAE and as a multicurrency prepaid travel card when travelling overseas with the top 14 foreign currencies preferred by UAE residents.

The Emirates NBD GlobalCash card is Mastercard’s first and fully integrated multi-currency prepaid card program issued by a financial institution in the UAE.

The card allows customers to load 14 popular currencies used by UAE residents when travelling: USD, GBP, Euros, Indian, Pakistani and Sri Lankan Rupee, Philippine Peso, Saudi Riyal, Australian Dollar, Turkish Lira, Swiss Franc, Canadian Dollar, Thai Baht, South African Rand in addition to the UAE Dirham.

The versatile feature enables customers to not have to worry about carrying or withdrawing foreign currency while travelling overseas. The card can be used globally at over 37 million locations for point of sale transactions, ATM withdrawals and online purchases - anywhere the MasterCard logo is displayed.

Customers can view their transactions and balances via the bank’s online banking platform or the GlobalCash mobile app. Leveraging Emirates NBD’s multi-channel network, the card can be reloaded in available currencies from a linked bank account via online banking or via Emirates NBD branches. In addition, the card can also be loaded in UAE Dirhams at Emirates NBD’s cash deposit machines.

Suvo Sarkar, senior EVP & group head – Retail Banking & Wealth Management at Emirates NBD said: “Customer convenience is at the heart of all our product offerings and the Emirates NBD GlobalCash card offers a safe and hassle-free hedge from currency and rate fluctuation while travelling and shopping abroad or online. This card delivers a more secure experience for clients when they are travelling and gives them the peace of mind that they have a fixed currency exchange rate on all international spends.”

“By locking in an exchange rate, the GlobalCash card offers a smart way to manage foreign currency requirements each time that customers load, reload or move money between currencies on the card. Backed by Emirates NBD’s extensive network and support infrastructure when it comes to safety features and re-loading and the added advantage of Mastercard’s global acceptance, gives the GlobalCash card a distinct edge among competitor travel cards,” Sarkar added.

Eyad Al Kourdi, senior vice president and general manager, UAE, Mastercard said: “We are pleased to collaborate with Emirates NBD to launch the unique GlobalCash card offering which leverages our industry-leading ‘Mastercard Prepaid Management Services’.

“The multi-currency travel card sets a new benchmark in the payments landscape with its flexible functionality and a host of features that work both locally as well as during international travels, supported with the safety and security that consumers associate with the Mastercard brand.”

The GlobalCash card is a safer alternative to carrying cash when travelling overseas. Since the card has up to 15 currencies, customers can easily move currency from one currency purse to another. If the customer does not have enough local currency to make a purchase, the card will automatically draw from another currency purse (in a preset order) to allow the customer to complete the transaction.

To protect customers against misuse, the card incorporates chip & PIN technology as well as 3-D secure technology for Internet transactions. – TradeArabia News Service