Emirates Development Bank (EDB) has partnered with fintech company YAP to launch the EDB Business Banking app which will support small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) operating in the UAE.
With the app, the business account IBAN can be obtained in minutes and account activation completed in 48 hours. The account is free to all, across all emirates within the country, and comes with no minimum balance criteria.
Through its partnership with YAP, EDB’s Business Banking app will offer a comprehensive suite of banking facilities including a fully operational business bank account, bill payments, invoicing, budgeting and analytics.
“EDB has developmental rather than commercial objectives to achieve. It addresses the needs of all types of entrepreneurs,” Dr. Ahmad Belhoul Al Falasi, Minister of State for Entrepreneurship and SMEs, reportedly told the state-run news agency WAM. There are 500,000 SMEs already operating in the country.
Ahmed Mohamed Al Naqbi, CEO of EDB added, “The launch of our Business Banking App underlines our commitment to create a digital ecosystem enabling SMEs to plug and play, anywhere in the UAE. One of the key challenges for SMEs is the ability to open a bank account within a short timeframe. With this app, we are addressing this market need through a free, open-to-all digital bank account which can be opened in minutes. In addition, our partnership with UAE-based fintech YAP, ensures a first-class user experience and continuous upgrades, offering the latest technology and benefits.”
The launch of the app is integral to EDB’s new strategy unveiled earlier this year. As part of this strategy, EDB has earmarked Dhs30bn to extend financial and non-financial support to SMEs in the UAE over the next five years. There are 500,000 SMEs already operating in the country. The EDB Business Banking app offers SMEs access to 24×7 secure, convenient, on-the-go digital banking services.
The launch of EDB’s Business Banking app follows agreement with leading UAE banks to provide credit guarantee schemes and co-lending agreements, aimed at offering direct and indirect lending to SMEs.
As part of EDB’s strategy it will also facilitate an investment arm for startups and SMEs (accelerator, equity finance, business growth fund) as well as business advisory services for entrepreneurs, startups and small companies (coaching, consulting, mentoring, market research).
In June, EDB, completely owned by the UAE government, listed a $750m bond on Nasdaq Dubai.
(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by The Finance World staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)
