etisalat money Taps Visa Direct for Cross-Border Transfers From the UAE

Visa and etisalat money have agreed to widen international transfer options for customers in the UAE. The partnership was signed at Visa's regional headquarters in Dubai.

Under the deal, etisalat money — the fintech arm of etisalat — will route cross-border payments through Visa Direct. The platform handles personal remittances as well as international payments made by small businesses.

Four additions are planned inside the etisalat money app:

• Visa Direct to Card: the sender enters the card number and the money lands on an eligible card held by the recipient.
• Visa+: the service connects payment apps, so someone can direct funds to a phone number rather than pass on bank details.
• Account-to-account: customers can move money from a personal account into a business account held abroad.
• SWIFT: conventional wire transfers will also be available.

At launch, corridors will cover India, Egypt, Pakistan, Bangladesh, the Philippines, the United Kingdom and China. Digital wallets in several markets will be supported too. The new routes sit alongside the existing transfer service, which etisalat money says reaches more than 150 countries through bank accounts, digital wallets and cash pickup.

Melike Kara Tanrikulu, chief executive of etisalat money, said cross-border transfers help people and businesses stay connected across borders. Fadi Moukaddem, Visa's senior vice president and group country manager for the UAE, Kuwait and Qatar, said the partnership gives consumers and businesses more choice in sending and receiving money abroad.

For Visa, the arrangement extends its network through a telecom operator's existing customer base rather than a bank branch. For etisalat money, it turns a remittance product into something closer to a full payments menu, where the sender picks speed and destination instead of defaulting to a wire.