Commercial Bank of Dubai (CBI) has entered into a partnership with Al Fardan Exchange to be a channel partner for issuing and topping-up the new eDirham card initiated by the Ministry of Finance.

The eDirham card is part of a cashless payment platform that empowers users to make payments for a wide range of services across Ministries, a Wam report said.

The new eDirham cards will provide the next generation of convenience, security and flexibility as they will enable users to set up eDirham Wallet, inquire about their card balances and review their transaction statements.

Commercial Bank of Dubai is the first bank in the UAE to both issue the new eDirham card and acquire payments made through the new card. Through the partnership with Al Fardan Exchange, CBD is now taking the lead in issuing the new eDirham card to customers.

The partnership will enable customers to visit any of Al Fardan Exchange’s 66 branches across the UAE to get a new eDirham Hala card or top-up their existing cards conveniently.

Saeed Rashid Al Yateem, Assistant Under Secretary of Resource and Budget Sector at the Ministry of Finance said: "The Ministry of Finance is keen to strengthen partnerships between the public and private sectors to support the transformation of the digital economy, and improve the quality of services provided to individuals and companies. The eDirham system, which is based on the latest global technologies for cashless payment services, is one of the ministry’s most prominent achievements, where it provides a smart, easy and secure way to seamlessly pay government and non-governmental service fees.

He added: "The Ministry of Finance continues to develop the country’s integrated digital payment system, so as to adopt the latest FinTech technologies and applications, and launch incentive initiatives to encourage various segments of society to adopt advanced digital options, in line with the UAE Vision 2021 and the UAE mGovernment initiative."

Speaking on the occasion, Dr. Bernd van Linder, Chief Executive Officer of Commercial Bank of Dubai, said: "We are delighted to partner with Al Fardan Exchange, one of the leading exchange houses in the UAE, to provide a convenient and easy way for customers to get and top-up the new eDirham card. We are constantly working towards supporting the government initiatives and providing greater convenience and access for our customers, by introducing new channel partners who help us in fulfilling the growing needs of our customers".

Osama Al Rahma, CEO of Al Fardan Exchange LLC and Hasan Al Fardan, CEO of Al Fardan Group, stated: "This goes in line with our digital transformation strategy as well as the initiatives from the Government of the UAE to go cashless and promote digital payments. We take pride to be part of this partnership backed by the Ministry of Finance in the UAE in launching the first version of the new eDirham cards in collaboration with CBD. At Al Fardan Exchange LLC, we always look out for new ways to collaborate with our partners and become a one-stop shop to offer various innovative financial products and services. Nothing excites us more than developing new payment products and partnerships such as that with CBD to promote digital payments."