FAB announces plans to expand payments business

FAB to carve out existing payments business into fully owned subsidiary

Strategic move accelerates FAB’s digital transformation and offers long-term shareholder value

Operational launch set for 2021 reinforces FAB’s leadership position in the payments space

Subsidiary will support and enable government, merchants and institutional clients to excel in the digital economy

Abu Dhabi, 02 November 2020: First Abu Dhabi Bank (FAB), the UAE's largest bank and one of the world's largest and safest financial institutions, is to carve out its existing payments business into a fully owned subsidiary with regional growth ambitions. This follows recent regulatory approval received from the Central Bank of the UAE.

Focused on direct acquiring, issuer processing and acquiring processing, the payments business will connect FAB’s scale, expertise, network and technology platforms with the region’s dynamic FinTech ecosystem to enable customers to excel in the digital economy.

The subsidiary will help government, merchant and institutional clients grow their core businesses by providing customised payment solutions and value-added services to seamlessly integrate and optimise technology investments, driving a superior customer experience and operational cost efficiencies.

The carve out is designed to unlock the growth potential from new geographies and customer segments, accelerating FAB’s digital transformation, enhancing its competitive position in the payments space and delivering long-term value to shareholders. It will support FAB’s digital strategy by exploring new business models and fostering new opportunities to innovate and unlock the transformative power of technology and data to deliver the most secure, convenient and relevant financial services.

André Sayegh, Group Chief Executive Officer of FAB, said: "The UAE is at the forefront of innovation in the financial services sector, underpinned by a vibrant mix of market dynamics, skilled talent and highly developed infrastructure. FAB is recognised as the fastest growing payment service provider in the UAE and a significant enabler of the region’s digital economy. As the payments industry continues to move at a rapid pace, our ambition is to remain at the forefront, creating opportunities to collaborate with the right FinTechs and strategic partners to drive the payments ecosystem, deliver value and enable cost efficiencies."

"A fully owned subsidiary will open up the full potential of FAB’s payment business and commercialise our processing offering at scale, across a broad range of customers and partners. In addition to our involvement in the new digital bank being created by ADQ, this move represents another significant long-term strategic opportunity for FAB, forming a key part of our growth and transformation agenda, cementing our leadership position in the region’s rapidly expanding payments sector, and unlocking new possibilities for our bank, partners, customers and shareholders."

FAB’s new payments subsidiary is on track to go live in early 2021 and further updates will be provided over the coming months.