Emirates NBD, a banking group in the MENA region and Turkey, has launched an enhanced and upgraded version of its WhatsApp banking service, “providing customers with a convenient, secure and reliable digital banking experience like never before.”
Emirates NBD WhatsApp banking “allows customers to seamlessly avail of 15 everyday banking services on the go.”
These reportedly “include checking account balances, receiving a list of last five transactions on account and credit card, generating credit card mini statement, temporarily blocking or unblocking cards, and placing new cheque book requests.”
Non-customers can also “subscribe for WhatsApp banking and enjoy features including applying for new products and services, finding branch and ATM locations, and viewing the latest Forex rates.”
The enhanced service “offers sign-and-share capability for PDFs and images as well as direct agent access for uncovered services or queries regarding the bank’s products and services.”
With this launch, the bank has also “introduced a seamless transition of customer intent from Phone Banking to WhatsApp application through a first-of-its-kind integrated omnichannel journey.”
Governed by robust security controls and “approved by the Central Bank of the UAE, all messages on Emirates NBD’s verified WhatsApp Business account are end-to-end encrypted, offering maximum safety and security.”
Marwan Hadi, Group Head, Retail Banking and Wealth Management at Emirates NBD, said:
“As a frontrunner in innovation, Emirates NBD is always looking for ways to enhance and expand its digital banking channels. As the most popular social messaging platform in the UAE, WhatsApp was a priority platform for us to offer customers an easy-to-use and secure channel for an interactive and intuitive banking experience on the go.”
Pedro Sousa Cardoso, Chief Digital Officer, Retail Banking and Wealth Management at Emirates NBD, added:
“Conversational banking has been an important focus in our digital transformation journey in line with our commitment to simplify everyday banking and create rewarding customer journeys. We look forward to welcoming all our customers onboard on the platform and are excited to bring customers many more innovative first-in-the-region features in the future.”
As noted in the update, Emirates NBD (DFM: Emirates NBD) claims it is “a leading banking group in the MENAT region with a presence in 13 countries, serving over 17 million customers.”
As at 31st March 2023, total assets were AED 782 billion, (equivalent to approx. USD 213 billion).
The Group says that it “has operations in the UAE, Egypt, India, Türkiye, the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, Singapore, the United Kingdom, Austria, Germany and Bahrain and representative offices in China and Indonesia with a total of 874 branches and 4,144 ATMs / SDMs. Emirates NBD is the leading financial services brand in the UAE with a Brand value of USD 3.89 billion.”
Emirates NBD contributes “to the construction of a sustainable future as an active participant and supporter of the UAE’s main development and sustainability initiatives, including financial wellness and the inclusion of people of determination.”
Emirates NBD is committed “to supporting the UAE’s Year of Sustainability and is an early supporter to the Dubai Can sustainability initiative, a city-wide initiative aimed to reduce use of single-use plastic bottled water.”