By Rafiq Vayani
DUBAI: Mashreq, a leading financial institution in the MENA region, has announced a strategic collaboration with Mastercard to expand the global reach of its Quick Remit solution, enabling Mashreq’s customers to transfer money abroad through its digital banking channels. Through this collaboration, Mastercard Move, the company’s portfolio of money movement capabilities, will elevate Mashreq’s cross-border remittance capabilities, boosting its overall service proposition andallowing customers to send money directly in local currencies across new international corridors. The initiative aims to deliver faster, more reliable and competitively priced cross-border transfers, empowering millions of Mashreq customers to move funds quickly and securely.
Mastercard Move enables banks, corporates, non-<a href="https://middleeastdaily.net/burgan-bank-renews-strategic-sponsorship-of-academy-x-with-coded-for-a-second-consecutive-year/”>bank FIs, digital players and governments – and their customers to send and receive funds across borders and payment types. It enables money to move quickly, safely and with ease, within and across more than 200 countries and territories, including high-demand, hard to access markets, and in more than 150 currencies, reaching nearly 17 billion endpoints and 95% of the world’s banked population.
To cater to the unbanked and underbanked, cash payout is also an option through Mastercard’s extensive network of cash pickup locations.
This collaboration reinforces Mashreq’s presence in the UAE’s outward remittance sector, which is the third-largest globally, with the country’s overall remittance market value estimated to reach US$47 billion in 2025 and grow at an annual rate of 4.7%. The collaboration positions the bank to meet rising demand through enhanced remittance capabilities while strengthening its leadership in digital payments and financial innovation across the region.
Commenting on the collaboration, Kartik Taneja, Head of Payments & Consumer Lending at Mashreq, said: “Customer-centricity and digital innovation are the driving forces behind our payments capabilities at Mashreq. We are pleased to join forces with Mastercard to expand the reach of our Quick Remit service, enabling access to new and previously underserved markets. Leveraging the company’s global network and technology will allow us to efficiently address a real customer need: simple, secure, and seamless money transfers. This development is an important milestone on our journey to build a robust financial ecosystem that empowers our customers and enriches their banking experience.”
Gina Petersen-Skyrme, SVP & Country Manager, UAE & Oman at Mastercard, added: “Cross-border payments serve as a lifeline between expats working in thriving economies, such as the UAE, and their families back home. At Mastercard, we are committed to providing communities with convenient and affordable ways to send money internationally. This collaboration brings together Mastercard Move with Mashreq’s leading digital banking capabilities. By supporting direct local currency payouts across new corridors, we are helping deliver faster and more transparent remittance experiences while strengthening global financial connectivity for the bank’s customers.”
The collaboration will initially focus on key underserved remittance corridors, with plans to expand to additional countries. This wider network will enable more competitive payout rates for customers, helping reduce money transfer costs.