Emirates NBD Expands Real-Time Cross-Border Payments to Saudi Arabia
Emirates NBD is set to expand its real-time cross-border payment service to customers in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA). The move comes as part of a strategic partnership with Nium, with both companies making significant progress in their collaboration.
The expansion will be facilitated through Emirates NBD KSA, with the specific chairman involved in planning not explicitly named. However, key figures such as Anupam Pahuja, Chief Revenue Officer at Nium, and Yousuf Saeed Mohd, Group Head of Priority, Personal Banking, and Retail Banking Sales at Emirates NBD, have commented on the expansion plans.
The service, initially launched across the Emirates NBD Group in the UAE, has seen broadened access to real-time payouts. This comes at a time when the UAE is one of the world's largest remittance hubs, with outbound flows surpassing USD 50 billion in 2023, according to the World Bank. Both Yousuf Saeed Mohd and Anupam Pahuja have praised the partnership, with Mohd highlighting its commitment to leading the next chapter of cross-border payments in the region, and Pahuja noting the real-time money movement enabled from the Middle East to the world.
The expansion of the Emirates NBD-Nium partnership embodies the vision of strategic collaborations between banks and Fintechs, aiming to unlock efficiency, inclusion, and growth in the Middle East. The update was announced live from Sibos 2025 in Frankfurt, where Nium is showcasing the latest developments in its global payment infrastructure.
