By Abdul Basit www.khaleejtimes.com
DUBAI – Emirates NBD is set to “go for its” single biggest product of the year that will make travel faster and easier than ever before in Dubai, sources confirmed to Khaleej Times.
The bank will announce a combi-card at a news conference today that will be attended by top officials from Emirates NBD, the Roads and Transport Authority, or RTA, and Visa. Commuters in Dubai can now enjoy the benefits and convenience of two cards in one with the development of a co-branded card scheme that will link Dubai Metro’s Nol card with Visa credit and debit cards.
The first-of-its-kind in the Middle East, which is also a significant milestone in contactless technology in the region, the card will also give commuters the ability to top-up their Nol metro cards automatically by linking it to their Visa debit or credit cards.
The multi-purpose card will enable customers to use their Visa debit and Visa credit cards to pay for a range of public transport fares, including the Metro, buses, water taxis and even parking fees.
Through the combi-card, customers can utilise both the payments functions of their debit/credit cards, as well as the Nol smart card that features innovative contactless payment technology, it was announced in April.
“This will be the only card product in the country that has this facility. So that’s one of the single biggest products of the year and will give us tremendous advantage,” Emirates NBD head of group marketing Vikram Krishna told Khaleej Times in April.
Visa has extensive experience in implementing similar transportation card programmes globally in markets such as Singapore, Hong Kong and the UK.
