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.

With the blessing of Central Bank of the UAE (CBUAE), UAE is all set to launch its IPP (Instant Payment Platform) in Q4 this year which will will enable instant transfers between bank accounts 24/7/365. Since it is a government led initiative, participation is mandatory for all financial institutions in the country so that instant transfers between all domestic bank accounts around the clock can be enabled. The scheme aims to provide best-in-class payments services, promote financial inclusion, and increase financial stability in the UAE.

Accenture has been selected by the CBUAE to lead a consortium of companies to help execute its National Payment Systems Strategy. In collaboration with SIA, now part of Nexi Group, and G42, Accenture will build and operate the National Instant Payment Platform (IPP) over the next five years.

Innovation in Real-time/Instant Payments

The UAE Instant Payments Platform (IPP) scheme, will bridge this gap, offering individuals and businesses the convenience of an Request to Pay (RTP)1 mechanism.

“As a 24×7 instant payments scheme, the IPP enables use cases that don’t exist in the country today,” such as real-time payments between people (P2P), person to merchant (P2M) and and business-to-business (B2B) transactions.

Way Forward

To summarize the aforementioned activities, BFS (Bramdean Financial Services) is all set to manage the role of being an MSP (Merchant Service Provider) and in parallel work with banks to enable them offer instant payments to their customers. Having a proven track record in different parts of the world, BFS can play an integral role to make this happen.

By leveraging Request for Payment (RTP) along with e-invoices for collections through Bill Aggregation holds the potential to deliver immense value to organizations across UAE.

P.S:  There are many examples around the world for IPP such as the UPI scheme in India, Raast in Pakistan, Pix in Brazil, in Sweden, UK etc. which enables real-time payments using QR codes, mobile numbers etc. for P2P & P2M payments.