Samsung Pay is the first mobile wallet system to be adopted by ADIB.

The partnership allows Visa covered card holders to make payments using their Samsung Pay-enabled devices at any contactless PoS reader around the world. The service will be gradually rolled out for Visa debit cards and the bank’s MasterCard portfolio over the next period.

The launch was marked with a launch event held at ADIB’s headquarters and attended by senior regional representatives of Samsung, Visa and ADIB.

Philip King, Global Head of Retail Banking at ADIB, said: “ADIB’s Visa covered cardholders can use the convenient Samsung Pay service to make payments with a single touch of a smartphone or smartwatch anywhere contactless payments cards are accepted. This secure and simple process represents the future of payments and is further demonstration of ADIB’s commitment to provide innovative digital banking solutions to customers.”

“The UAE consumers are digitally in-tune and continue to seek and harness the convenience of digital-first solutions,” said Mohammad Gharaibeh, Head of Enterprise - Mobile Business at Samsung Gulf Electronics. “We are delighted to begin working with ADIB to give its customers access to the mobile payment technology that is revolutionizing the checkout process and enabling users to enjoy the seamless simplicity of Samsung Pay with almost every transaction.”

ADIB is currently undergoing a digital transformation strategy to enhance the customer experience. An initial phase in the bank’s digital development programme was the launch of ADIB Express, a new generation of technology-enabled branches balancing automation with a highly-personalised experience. This has been complemented by pioneering mobile services such as Express Finance, which enables approved customers to receive funds in as little as 30 minutes through ADIB’s mobile App. ADIB continues to experience rapid growth across its digital channels, with over 2 million mobile transactions now initiated via the ADIB mobile banking app every month.

Shahebaz Khan, Visa’s General Manager for the UAE, said: “We are delighted to partner with ADIB to launch Samsung Pay, the first mobile wallet service enabled for the bank’s Visa cardholders. Samsung Pay uses Visa’s tokenization technology to secure transactions by replacing the 16-digit card number with a token. During a transaction, the token - not the actual card information - is submitted into the payment process so Visa cardholders can enjoy the quick and seamless experience of a contactless transaction with the confidence that their transactions are protected.”