Agreement to support digital financial services for SMEs in the UAE

Wio Bank PJSC revealed that it has recently signed a partnership agreement with Paymentology, a global institution specialized in issuing and processing payment cards, within the framework of supporting financial services provided to small and medium enterprises and entrepreneurs in the UAE.

WeU Bank, which operates as a digital financial platform with an initial capital of AED 2.3 billion and is regulated by the Central Bank of the UAE, said that the agreement seeks to leverage the Paymentology platform for card issuance and cloud data analytics capabilities to quickly launch financial products as it supports businesses and consumers by providing digital banking solutions.

He explained in press statements that the bank, which focuses on three main sectors: digital banking applications, blended finance and banking solutions, will benefit from the partnership agreement to support the solutions provided by Wio Business, which is the first digital banking application from Wio Bank PJSC designed specifically for small and medium businesses, and the application provides simplified and fully digital financial services such as issuing physical and virtual cards for small and medium enterprises that previously relied on traditional branches to open accounts and conduct commercial transactions, pointing out that The cooperation will be carried out to reduce traditional transactions with SMEs, entrepreneurs and self-employed people who need more services in this field, enabling them to open a business account immediately and avoid long waits, and allowing them to benefit from the service immediately using both physical and virtual cards.

Jaish Patel, CEO of Wio Bank PJSC, said: "Our mission at Wio Bank PJSC is to re-stimulate banking in the region, which requires partnering with like-minded entities with capabilities to support integrated digital banking on the platform.

Rowan Brewer, CEO of Paymentology, said: "The UAE is at the forefront of innovation solutions for digital financial services and is making great strides towards becoming a cashless society in the near future. The agreement will allow us to continue expanding into the Middle East to meet the requirements of our customers such as PJSC Wio Bank, which seeks to drive digital transformation and fundamentally transform payments and banking services."

The announcement comes as the UAE's financial services sector continues its rapid transformation, driven by increasing consumer demand for digital products and services, with research by Visa showing that 52% of UAE consumers plan to shift cashless by 2024 compared to 41% globally. Meanwhile, about 96% of the SMEs surveyed by Visa stated that accepting new forms of payments is key to their growth.