
Emirates NBD partners with Appro to revolutionise retail banking onboarding
Dubai, United Arab Emirates – Emirates NBD, a leading banking group in the MENAT region, today announced a partnership with Appro, a fintech platform launched by SC Ventures, to significantly enhance its retail banking onboarding process, significantly reducing application times from hours to just three minutes.
Appro digitises the retail banking user journey, allowing customers to complete a single application per product. Emirates NBD can then utilise the data to perform necessary onboarding activities, including Know Your Customer (KYC) checks, customer due diligence, credit assessments, and fraud checks.
Integrating Appro into Emirates NBD's processes provides the potential to deliver significant gains in efficiency and customer experience, including accelerating onboarding, demonstrably reducing fraud risk and ensuring robust compliance. Customers benefit from a faster, more transparent application process, leading to increased satisfaction, greater trust, and ultimately, stronger customer relationships.
Marwan Hadi, Group Head Retail Banking & Wealth Management at Emirates NBD, said: 'Our partnership with Appro exemplifies Emirates NBD's commitment to leveraging cutting-edge fintech solutions to streamline processes and enhance customer experiences. By transforming our onboarding experience, we are not only improving efficiency but also strengthening our fraud prevention capabilities.'
Tarek Osman, Co-Founder & Commercial Director at Appro said: 'Appro is dedicated to revolutionising the customer banking experience and making their onboarding as seamless as possible. We are delighted to partner with Emirates NBD and enhance their customer experience.'
About Emirates NBD
Emirates NBD (DFM: Emirates NBD) is a leading banking group in the MENAT (Middle East, North Africa and Türkiye) region with a presence in 13 countries, serving over 9 million active customers. As of 31st March 2025, total assets were AED 1 trillion, (equivalent to approx. USD 272 billion). The Group has operations in the UAE, Egypt, India, Türkiye, the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, Singapore, the United Kingdom, Austria, Germany, Russia and Bahrain and representative offices in China and Indonesia with a total of 839 branches and 4,539 ATMs / SDMs. Emirates NBD is the leading financial services brand in the UAE with a Brand value of USD 4.54 billion.
Emirates NBD Group serves its customers (individuals, businesses, governments, and institutions) and helps them realise their financial objectives through a range of banking products and services including retail banking, corporate and institutional banking, Islamic banking, investment banking, private banking, asset management, global markets and treasury, and brokerage operations. The Group is a key participant in the global digital banking industry with 97% of all financial transactions and requests conducted outside of its branches. The Group also operates Liv, the lifestyle digital bank by Emirates NBD, with close to half a million users, it continues to be the fastest-growing bank in the region.
Emirates NBD contributes to the construction of a sustainable future as an active participant and supporter of the UAE's main development and sustainability initiatives, including financial wellness and the inclusion of people of determination. Emirates NBD is committed to supporting the UAE's Year of Sustainability as Principal Banking Partner of COP28 and an early supporter to the Dubai Can sustainability initiative, a city-wide initiative aimed to reduce use of single-use plastic bottled water.
For further information on Emirates NBD, please contact:
Ibrahim Sowaidan
Senior Vice President
Head - Group Corporate Affairs
Emirates NBD
e-mail: ibrahims@emiratesnbd.com
Burson
Dubai, UAE
Email: emiratesnbd@bm.com

Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles


The National
7 hours ago
- The National
Money & Me: ‘Starting a company helped me attain financial independence'
Deepika Nahata became an entrepreneur when she identified a pain point for many working households: doing the laundry. Partnering with a close relative, she launched WashOn Laundry as a family business in Dubai just before the Covid-19 pandemic. The company caters to individuals and businesses such as hotels, salons and gyms, and offers additional services such as shoe cleaning, bag restoration, cleaning of carpets, curtains and sofas. She credits running the business for five years with giving her financial independence and more autonomy in taking decisions on money matters. 'We initially thought we had taken the wrong decision, but consistency and attention to customers' requirements are the only secret to success,' says Ms Nahata, 36, who is from the north-eastern Indian state of Assam. WashOn, which is based in Dubai Investment Park, has now grown to 100 employees. Ms Nahata has been living in Dubai for the past 10 years and currently lives in Murooj Al Furjan with her husband, who is a software engineer, two sons aged 10 and 2, and her in-laws. She is a commerce graduate and holds a chartered accountant internship. Did wealth feature in your childhood? What did you learn from it? I was raised as a saver. Whenever I asked for pocket money, my mother would advise me to separate my needs from my wants. I didn't realise it then, but that simple lesson has changed the way I think about money. The habit of saving has helped me tide over emergencies. Saving and reinvesting our profits back into the laundry business have helped us to enhance our way of working by updating equipment and expanding our service offering. I only choose to spend on things that add value and offer me something in return. How did you first earn? The first income I earned was for my CA internship, making 5,000 Indian rupees ($57.8) per month in 2012. Following the internship, my employer shifted me to a full-time role on a monthly pay of 20,000 rupees. Any early financial jolts? I remember one time when I had started working in India and my parents travelled out of town. The washing machine in my house broke down and I had no money to pay the technician. I had to borrow money from my neighbour. That was a wake-up call because I had no savings and was spending all my income going out with friends. How do you grow your wealth? Through reinvesting profits back into my business. I am a smart spender and only invest in things that add value. I don't spend lavishly on parties or luxuries, instead I'm focused on doing things that add value to my working life. Have you been wise with money? Yes, it's been five years since we founded WashOn. The time, care and effort we have put into growing it are paying us back, not just in terms of revenue but also in terms of the experience and lessons from running the business. What has been your best investment? Building our business. We started the venture from scratch. But now we are able to provide employment to 100 people and sustain their livelihoods. That gives us pride and joy. Any cherished purchases? Only the new equipment that we have purchased to improve efficiencies and add value to our laundry business. Any financial advice for your younger self? Don't wait to be financially ready. Whenever you feel like starting a business or doing something on your own, start small but at least make a start. When my co-founder and I decided to start the business, we had a lot of doubts, but we didn't want to be financially dependent on someone else. There were many financial challenges as well and the prospect of taking risk. I am quite risk averse. But we decided to take the plunge. As it's a family business and we didn't want to take on loans, we tapped into family savings. We started with five to six employees and today we have more than 100 workers and there's been a huge increase in our business revenue. Any key financial milestones? Running the business has helped us gain financial independence and also given us decision-making powers. Earlier, we had to take our husbands' consent on important financial matters. Now, my co-founder and I are financially savvy and take crucial decisions ourselves. What luxuries are important to you? Spending quality time with family. What are your financial goals? I want to grow WashOn to a level where we can provide our services all over the UAE. Currently, we are focused on Dubai only.


Gulf Today
7 hours ago
- Gulf Today
ADFD attends opening of Jordan Digital Health Centre
In the presence of His Royal Highness Prince Al Hussein Bin Abdullah II, Crown Prince of the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan, Abu Dhabi Fund for Development (ADFD), represented by Mohammed Saif Al Suwaidi, Director General, participated in the official inauguration of the Jordan Digital Health Centre, a pioneering virtual hospital initiative. This initiative is part of the UAE's broader grant, managed by ADFD, to enhance development projects aligned with Jordan's Economic Modernisation Vision 2023-2025, with a total funding of Dhs1.5 billion. These projects further contribute to Jordan's National Council for Future Technology agenda and reinforce the UAE's ongoing commitment to driving strategic development partnerships in the region. The Jordan Digital Health Centre aims to connect healthcare centres and create an integrated electronic medical records management system through a unified digital platform, to enhance Jordan's healthcare sector in delivering remote care services aligned with international standards. Executed through the support of UAE-based company 'Presight,' a leader in advanced technology and AI-driven digital solutions, in collaboration with Jordan's Ministry of Digital Economy and Entrepreneurship, this centre marks a strategic milestone in enhancing Jordan's digital health infrastructure. During the ceremony, Prince Al Hussein extended his appreciation to the UAE's leadership, President His Highness Sheikh Mohamed Bin Zayed Al Nahyan, and His Highness Sheikh Mohammed Bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice President, Prime Minister and Ruler of Dubai. He emphasised that this initiative underscores the enduring strategic ties between the two nations and their commitment to advancing sustainable development and economic integration across key sectors. He also praised ADFD's key role in supporting transformative development initiatives, as the Jordan Digital Health Centre serves as a model of cross-border institutional collaboration. WAM


The National
7 hours ago
- The National
Pictures of the week: From sunning carpets in Antalya to diving into the Euphrates
Micro-retirement is not a recognised concept or employment status under Federal Decree Law No. 33 of 2021 on the Regulation of Labour Relations (as amended) (UAE Labour Law). As such, it reflects a voluntary work-life balance practice, rather than a recognised legal employment category, according to Dilini Loku, senior associate for law firm Gateley Middle East. 'Some companies may offer formal sabbatical policies or career break programmes; however, beyond such arrangements, there is no automatic right or statutory entitlement to extended breaks,' she explains. 'Any leave taken beyond statutory entitlements, such as annual leave, is typically regarded as unpaid leave in accordance with Article 33 of the UAE Labour Law. While employees may legally take unpaid leave, such requests are subject to the employer's discretion and require approval.' If an employee resigns to pursue micro-retirement, the employment contract is terminated, and the employer is under no legal obligation to rehire the employee in the future unless specific contractual agreements are in place (such as return-to-work arrangements), which are generally uncommon, Ms Loku adds.