The UAE is currently working on initiatives to implement a financial market infrastructure that will enable instant payments in the country, the Central Bank of the UAE (CBUAE) said.
Instant payments are electronic retail payments that are processed in real-time, 24 hours a day, 365 days a year, where the funds are made available immediately for use by the recipient.
The CBUAE reviewed during a meeting with bank chief executives, the updates on the ongoing initiatives to implement a state-of-the-art financial market infrastructure that will enable instant payments in the country and support the transformation of the payment landscape in the UAE.
The payments landscape in the UAE is rapidly changing amid the digital transformation in the sector following the Covid-19 pandemic.
Trends in the payments industry — including buy now, pay later platforms, digital wallets, and contactless card models — are gaining traction locally.
More than half of all residents now use digital wallets as online payments increased after the pandemic, payments solutions provider Checkout.com said in a recent report. These have become more popular among the younger generation.
Meanwhile, more than half of consumers in the UAE plan to go cashless by 2024, compared with the global average of 41 percent, a Visa study earlier this year showed.
The majority of Middle East consumers are also leaning towards digital banking, with 61 percent in the UAE preferring to transact using online channels, US technology company Entrust said in a March report.
On the other hand, officials discussed during the meeting the consumer protection framework in the country, including complaints management, and the planned establishment of an ombudsman unit named Sanadak.
The unit will be a “unique consumer complaint resolution mechanism in the Middle East region that will provide easy access and quick turnaround for resolution of consumer complaints”, the statement said.
Moreover, CBUAE highlighted the progress of Emiratisation initiatives that seek to increase the number of Emiratis employed in the banking sector this year, in line with the UAE national agenda.
Overall, the UAE’s banking system has “remained resilient throughout the pandemic, with a broad-based and robust recovery evident across key banking system indicators during 2022“, the Central Bank said.
