Mashreq Bank has partnered with NIUM, a cross-border digital payments company, to expand its existing QuickRemit service to more than 30 countries worldwide.
In a statement on 26 February, Mashreq said the agreement made it the first bank in the UAE to offer instant and same day credit facility to so many places, including the UK, Singapore, Philippines, Australia, Canada, Bangladesh and majority of European countries.
Customer payments will be sent instantly to Europe using SEPA Instant Credit Transfer, Singapore via FAST (Fast and Secure Transfer) and United Kingdom using the Faster Payment Services. This is in addition to India and Pakistan where customers have had instant transfers since 2017.
According to the UAE Central Bank’s latest figures, the outward remittance market in the UAE is seeing significant growth with a 3% year-on-year increase from AED164.4bn in 2017, to AED169.2bn in 2018. During the first half of 2019, outward remittances from the UAE stood at AED 80.96bn.
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.”
Prajit Nanu, co-founder and chief executive, NIUM, added: “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.”
