Al Hilal Bank to Set Out Using ID Cards for ATM Transactions

Allowing customers to withdraw cash from ATM machines with their Emirates ID cards, Al Hilal bank would be the first one in the entire UAE to deploy this technology-fueled service.

According to the bank’s spokeswoman, the service would be inaugurated in a few months’ time as it just reached the final phase of testing yesterday, which had been carried out in association with the Emirates ID Authority. However, customers would still be needing their bank cards after Al Hilal deploys the system since the service won’t be readily available at other banks or retail outlets. The bank certainly plans to cope with this problem by extending its service to both ATMs of other banks and the retail outlets.

The strategic partnership agreement between Al Hilal and Emirates ID Authority has led to this project and is a step towards enhancing customer experience. It is the second of two major initiatives that came up with the partnership , the first one being installation of e-readers for Emirates ID cards across Al Hilal’s network to streamline and speed up customer identification process. As Mohamed Jamil Berro, the Group CEO of Al Hilal Bank, says, “We were the first bank to cooperate with EIDA on the unique idea of using their card’s stored information to simplify and streamline the bank account opening process, which we successfully implemented in 2013. This time we will be the first bank to allow the use of Emirates IDs for ATM withdrawals. This concretizes our philosophy of providing pioneering and cutting-edge services to our customers.”

Smart services were already looked upon as a prerequisite at the Government Summit last week. For that matter, integration of Emirates ID Cards in financial services was also emphasised.