The Dubai Health Authority (DHA) and Emirates NBD, a leading financial institution in the region, have signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) to enable UAE nationals travelling abroad for medical treatment to use the bank’s GlobalCash prepaid card as a convenient multi-currency payment solution.
Under the agreement, DHA will provide Emirates NBD GlobalCash cards to UAE nationals travelling overseas for medical treatment. The cards will be loaded with the required foreign currency amount which the patients can utilise upon arriving at their destination. As a result, patients will no longer have to physically visit overseas DHA offices or UAE Embassies for payment approvals, and banks in the destination country for cash collection, resulting in a smoother and hassle-free experience.
Ahmed Al Nuaimi, CEO of Joint Corporate Support Services at the DHA and Abdulla Qassem, Group Chief Operating Officer, Emirates NBD, signed the Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) in the presence of His Excellency Humaid Al Qutami, Director General of the DHA.
The GlobalCash card will offer a range of benefits to Emirati patients travelling abroad for treatment by allowing seamless payments for various expenses, while minimising the risk of carrying cash. Card issuance and other fees will be waived and special FX rates offered to provide increased value to customers. Cardholders will be able to track their spends and balances easily via a dedicated mobile app. In addition, the new solution will offer enhanced convenience to DHA by considerably reducing processing efforts and manual workarounds while supplementing Dubai government initiatives towards digitisation and building a smart economy.
Commenting on the partnership, Al Nuaimi said that the overseas medical treatment services provided by the DHA is an important service needed in certain cases and we are pleased that this partnership enhances patients’ convenience.
Qassem added: “As a community-focused bank, Emirates NBD has always been a strong supporter of government initiatives to promote the welfare of UAE nationals and residents. We are confident this new partnership will offer greater convenience and peace of mind to Emirati nationals who need to travel outside the country for medical treatment.”
The Emirates NBD GlobalCash card is a multi-currency travel card featuring the top 14 foreign currencies preferred by UAE residents, in addition to AED. The card works like a general purpose pre-paid card, enabling cash withdrawals and payments in AED while in the UAE and in foreign currencies when travelling overseas. The card can be used globally at over 37 million locations for point of sale transactions, ATM withdrawals and online purchases.