etisalat money, the fintech arm of etisalat, has partnered with Visa to broaden international money transfer options for consumers and businesses in the UAE.
The company will integrate Visa Direct, Visa’s global money movement platform, into its app. This will support additional cross-border use cases, including P2P remittances and international payments by small businesses.
The agreement combines etisalat money’s digital financial services with Visa Direct’s network. Users will be able to send funds across borders to bank accounts, digital wallets and eligible cards.
Through the partnership, etisalat money plans to introduce four additional international transfer options. Visa Direct to Card will allow customers to send funds directly to eligible recipients’ cards using card numbers. Visa+, a service designed to move money between different P2P digital payment apps, will let customers complete eligible transfers using a recipient’s phone number rather than traditional banking details. P2B transfers will also be available, enabling customers to send money internationally from their personal etisalat money accounts to business accounts. SWIFT transfers will be added as another option inside the app.
The new features will sit alongside etisalat money’s existing international transfer services, which already reach more than 150 countries. Customers can currently send money to bank accounts and digital wallets or for cash pickup. The app displays live exchange rates, estimated transfer times and transaction tracking.
At launch, the Visa Direct integration will support transfers to several remittance corridors, including India, Egypt, Pakistan, Bangladesh, the Philippines, the UK and China, as well as digital wallet destinations across multiple markets.
The partnership targets the UAE’s internationally connected population, for whom cross-border transfers to home markets are a routine need. By bringing multiple payout methods into a single app, etisalat money aims to let customers choose a transfer method based on their preferences and the recipient’s requirements, without relying on separate services.
“This is a step in broadening our international payment capabilities and strengthening our position in the digital financial services market. Customer expectations around choice and flexibility in money movement are evolving,” said Melike Kara Tanrikulu, CEO of etisalat money.
Fadi Moukaddem, Senior Vice President and Group Country Manager for the UAE, Kuwait and Qatar at Visa, pointed to the role of trust in money movement. He said combining the two companies’ capabilities would give consumers and businesses more choice in how funds are sent and received internationally.
For etisalat money, connecting accounts, digital wallets and cards through Visa Direct supports its wider cross-border growth plans. For Visa, the deal extends the reach of Visa Direct and Visa+ through a telecom-backed fintech in the UAE. Both companies have indicated they intend to develop digital money movement services in the UAE and in other markets.
