Dubai: Visa, a leader in digital payments, has appointed Emirates NBD as its official National Net Settlement Service (NNSS) Agent in the UAE. This appointment allows Visa's domestic card transactions to be settled by Emirates NBD locally in UAE Dirhams (AED), instead of relying on international settlement.
According to Emirates News Agency, this collaboration enhances the UAE's domestic settlement capabilities and provides Visa clients with improved flexibility to automate and manage their local settlement obligations. A Visa NNSS Settlement Agent, typically a licensed bank or financial institution, facilitates local settlement for participating Visa clients by managing fund transfers for domestic Visa transactions following Visa's network standards.
As Visa's NNSS Agent in the UAE, Emirates NBD will streamline domestic settlements in AED, supporting enhancements to the settlement processes. Salima Gutieva, Visa's VP and Country Manager for the UAE, and Anith Daniel, Group Head of Transaction Banking Services at Emirates NBD, signed the NNSS agreement at Emirates NBD headquarters in Dubai.
Fadi Moukaddem, Visa's SVP and Group Country Manager for UAE, Kuwait, and Qatar, expressed the company's commitment to expanding the growth of digital payments in the UAE. "We are delighted to partner with Emirates NBD to continue facilitating local currency settlements among our clients for Visa domestic transactions," he said.
Ahmed Al Qassim, Group Head of Wholesale Banking at Emirates NBD, emphasized that this partnership will streamline domestic settlement processes and bolster the nation's digital payments infrastructure, supporting the UAE government's ambitions for a more cashless economy. He added that the appointment reflects Visa's confidence in the bank's financial service capabilities.
The system enables faster local settlement, helping to reduce processing times and payment delays, and enhances reliability and resilience by reducing reliance on international networks for domestic transactions. This supports continuity and stability, contributes to cost efficiencies, and offers greater flexibility for clients by potentially lowering certain fees associated with international processing.