Emirates NBD’s ‘Get Together. Go Contactless’ Campaign Records More Than 34 Million Transactions

Emirates NBD, a leading banking Group in the MENAT (Middle East, North Africa and Turkey) region, has recorded 34 million contactless transactions in eight weeks as part of its ‘Get Together. Go Contactless’ campaign. The campaign’s success builds on the bank’s continued efforts to encourage and accelerate use of contactless payments.

Emirates NBD’s campaign, which ran earlier in the year in partnership with global digital payments leader Visa, rewarded customers for making the transition to contactless transactions and adopting different contactless payment methods. The three lucky customers who won BMW 520i’s through the campaign were Mr. Hamad Mohamed Abdulla Ahmad, Mr. Kareem Ahmed Mohammed Abdou Maduor and Mr. Saleh Omran Mohammed Al Khayal Alteneiji. Besides the cars, other prizes that were up for grabs included 50 75-inch TVs and 200 iPhone 12s. The campaign offered customers the opportunity to earn entries every time they made a contactless payment using their Emirates NBD Visa Debit or Credit Card and enter a mega draw to win exciting prizes.

Customers earned an entry each time they tapped their cards to pay at a store and two entries for paying online. Use of mobile wallets such as Apple Pay, Google Pay or Samsung Pay, and wearables such as Fitbit Pay and Garmin Pay, earned three entries for each transaction. Winners unlocked prizes by making a final contactless payment to claim premium rewards such as a BMW 520i for only AED 520, an iPhone 12s for AED 12 and a 75” smart television for AED 75.

The ‘Get Together. Go Contactless’ campaign has accelerated the adoption of contactless payments substantially. During the campaign, spend per active card has grown by 67% year over year. Transactions per active card have increased by 47%. Among top market segments, grocery and supermarkets saw the highest spend for contactless payments, while hotels and resorts had the highest growth uplift in value of spend as well as number of transactions.

Marwan Hadi, Executive Vice President and Head of Retail Banking, UAE at Emirates NBD said: “As a front-runner in banking and payments technology, Emirates NBD continues to offer a wide range of contactless and mobile payment options to our customers.  With a leading share of market payment volumes, we have been a key driver of contactless payments adoption in the UAE. The use of touch-free technologies is a safer option for all during the COVID-19 outbreak and we are delighted to reward our customers for adapting to new technologies while also fostering a sense of togetherness in the community”.

Dr. Saeeda Jaffar, Visa’s Group Country Manager for the GCC region, said, “Contactless payments are a popular option for consumers seeking a seamless, touchless experience in times of social-distancing. Our recent consumer data shows a significant decline in cash on delivery payments, while the use of contactless payments for online or delivery payments has almost doubled.[1]”

“The ‘Get Together. Go Contactless’ campaign was a great incentive to encourage consumers to choose contactless payments over cash and experience its many benefits. We are grateful to have worked with Emirates NBD on this campaign which can only help increase the adoption of contactless payments and accelerate the country’s move towards a cashless society,” Jaffar added.

As more contactless payments were made by customers during the campaign, additional prizes were unlocked giving participants increased opportunities to win, thus putting community engagement and participation at the heart of the campaign. Emirates NBD also offered customers the option to link their debit and credit cards to their smartphone or wearables to make quick and secure payments via mobile wallets and personal devices.

At Emirates NBD, contactless payments now make up 88% of all face-to-face card payment transactions. The bank saw contactless payment transactions, which include contactless card and mobile wallet-based payments rise by 59% year-on-year in 2020. Mobile wallet-based payments more than doubled during the period, while card tap and go-based payments increased by about half. The bank also saw e-commerce transactions increasing by 25% in 2020 over the previous year.