UAE’s central bank launches Aani, a new instant payments platform
The Central Bank of the UAE (CBUAE), via its subsidiary Al Etihad Payments, has launched a new instant payments platform which it says will “transform the landscape of digital payments” in the country.
UAE’s central bank launches new instant payments platform
Aani, available through its partner financial institutions and as a mobile app, enables transactions to be processed “instantly and securely” at any given time.
The platform gives customers the ability to split bills and transfer money using just phone numbers, while also enabling businesses to accept payments using QR codes.
Additional features, including real-time direct debit and e-checks, will also be added in due course. The central bank hopes to onboard “tens of thousands” of merchants in the coming months.
Eight licenced financial institutions are participating at launch, including Abu Dhabi Commercial Bank, Al Fardan Exchange, Emirates NBD, Finance House, First Abu Dhabi Bank, Habib Bank AG Zurich, Mashreq Bank and National Bank of Fujairah.
Al Etihad Payments plans to onboard the rest of the country’s licenced financial institutions by the end of next year.
The new instant payments system forms part of CBUAE’s Financial Infrastructure Transformation (FIT) programme, which was launched in February this year to accelerate digital transformation in the country’s financial sector.
The launch also comes a week after Al Etihad Payments entered a strategic partnership with India’s NPCI International to develop the UAE’s first national domestic card scheme.
