Business Bureau, Gulf Today

The Abu Dhabi Securities Exchange (ADX) has partnered with First Abu Dhabi Bank (FAB) to distribute cash dividends to its registered investors electronically through the bank’s digital wallet, payit. The digital wallet will empower users to manage their stock exchange requirements through the “ADX Digital Wallet” powered by payit.

With payit, ADX now provides another method of distributing cash dividends to investors through its new portfolio of services which follows the efforts to become more customer-centric. The new service also empowers corporate entities to move away from a manual dividend distribution process through cheques or other means. The platform achieves this new approach through a real-time digital payout model, where investors receive the dividends instantly within their wallet as soon as they are distributed.

H.E. Khalifa Al Mansouri, Acting Chief Executive of ADX said: “In alignment with the Abu Dhabi Government’s digital transformation across all sectors and industries and as part of ADX’s continuous efforts to digitize its investors journey while tailoring its services to various stakeholders, ADX has collaborated with payit, providing a free cashless digital wallet option to distribute cash dividends electronically. We are confident that this digital wallet will prove to be quick, safe and completely transparent, as it allows users to send and request money easily. This latest initiative is an essential part of ADX’s contribution to the UAE’s vision of becoming a cashless society by 2020 through introducing digital services for its investors.”

Alongside receiving their dividends, payit will offer investors a host of additional payment services, including international and domestic transfers and the ability to make payments through merchant partner apps and websites, and split bills with other people. The sign-up process is instant and can be carried out rapidly by using Emirates IDs.

The partnership signing ceremony took place at FAB’s main offices in Abu Dhabi, where Mr. Abdulaziz Al Nuaimi, Assistant Chief Executive of ADX signed on behalf of the Exchange, while Mr. André Sayegh, Deputy Group CEO & Group Head of Corporate & Investment Banking at FAB signed on behalf of the bank.

Commenting on this partnership, Abdulaziz Al Nuaimi, ADX Assistant Chief Executive said: “This partnership is the result of longstanding work by ADX to support the UAE’s ambitious digital transformation goals through the introduction of new investor solutions. The unique payit digital wallet is a user-friendly tool that will ensure the easy, smooth and rapid transfer of funds. This successful collaboration between ADX and FAB demonstrates the power of government institutions, the private sector and regional and global investors working together to bring innovation into capital markets.”

André Sayegh, Deputy Group CEO & Group Head of Corporate & Investment Banking at FAB, said: “FAB is proud to be at the forefront of the ongoing digitisation of the UAE economy, a trend that is helping to create commercial opportunities while enhancing the overall experience for end users. FAB’s partnership with ADX will bring tangible benefits to investors and marks another step towards becoming a cashless society.”

Commenting on this agreement, Hana Al Rostamani, Group Head of Personal Banking at FAB, said: “We are delighted to partner with ADX in creating a solution that provides efficient and secure dividend distribution to investors. It will enable ADX to reduce costs relating to manual operations and enhance the investor experience by meeting the demand for real-time services. As one of the leading exchanges in the region, ADX, along with FAB, will continue to roll out a range of innovative solutions through payit to enhance overall customer experience.”

ADX has recently introduced its digital platform “Sahmi”, which provides services for investors integrated with a SmartPass service and a whole-of-government initiative. The new digital platform ‘Sahmi’ provides a unified service for investors, issues investor numbers and updates their information. The platform also enables them to inquire about profits or any information related to initial IPOs, transfer securities, issue reports related to investors’ portfolios, trading, deposited shares among other things.

The Exchange was established on November 15 of the year 2000 by Local Law No. (3) Of 2000, the provisions of which vest the market with a legal entity of autonomous status, independent finance and management. The Law also provides ADX with the necessary supervisory and executive powers to exercise its functions.

ADX is a market for trading securities; including shares issued by public joint stock companies, bonds issued by governments or corporations, exchange traded funds, and any other financial instruments approved by the UAE Securities and Commodities Authority (SCA). In 2014, ADX was upgraded to ‘Emerging Market’ status by both MSCI and S&P Dow Jones. ADX was already classified as an Emerging Market by FTSE in 2009 and in 2011 by S&P and Russell Investments.