Visa Appoints Emirates NBD for Local UAE Dirham Settlements
Visa has named Emirates NBD as its official National Net Settlement Service (NNSS) agent in the UAE, in a move designed to clear domestic card transactions locally in dirhams rather than through international settlement networks. The arrangement is expected to speed up processing and reduce costs for banks while keeping more payment activity within the country.
Under the agreement, Emirates NBD will handle fund transfers for participating Visa clients in line with the card network’s operational standards. By enabling domestic settlement within the UAE, the initiative reduces reliance on cross-border settlement routes and is intended to improve reliability for local payment flows.
The new setup also gives Visa clients additional options to automate their local settlement obligations, which may simplify back-office operations for institutions involved in domestic card transaction processing.
Agreement Signed by Senior Executives
To formalize the partnership, Salima Gutieva, Visa’s vice president and country manager for the UAE, and Anith Daniel, group head of transaction banking services at Emirates NBD, signed the NNSS agreement.
Fadi Moukaddem, Visa’s senior vice president and group country manager for the UAE, Kuwait and Qatar, said the partnership supports the company’s broader efforts to grow digital payments in the UAE and enhance local currency settlement capabilities for Visa domestic transactions.
“We are committed to expanding the growth of digital payments in the UAE, and are delighted to partner with Emirates NBD to continue facilitating local currency settlements among our clients for Visa domestic transactions,” Moukaddem said.
Ahmed Al Qassim, group head of wholesale banking at Emirates NBD, said the collaboration will help streamline domestic settlement processes and strengthen the country’s digital payments infrastructure. He added that the initiative supports the UAE government’s ambitions for a more cashless economy.
Emirates NBD Expands Digital Finance Role
The agreement adds to Emirates NBD’s growing digital finance footprint in the region. Earlier this year, the bank issued an AED 1 billion digitally native bond, which was noted as the first dirham-denominated digital bond in the Middle East and North Africa.
The latest partnership with Visa underscores the bank’s continuing involvement in payment infrastructure development and digital financial services in the UAE market.
Industry Analysis
The appointment of Emirates NBD as Visa’s NNSS agent reflects a broader industry shift toward localizing payment processing and settlement infrastructure. For banks and payment networks, domestic settlement can offer operational efficiencies, lower transaction costs and improved settlement speed. It may also strengthen resilience by reducing dependency on external networks for local card activity.
For the UAE, the move aligns with national efforts to build a more advanced digital payments ecosystem and support cashless commerce. As payment volumes continue to rise, local settlement capabilities are likely to become increasingly important for financial institutions seeking to modernize operations and improve transaction efficiency.
Featured image credit: Visa press release
