Ensure compliance with the highest international standards and best practices (e.g. Principles for Financial Market Infrastructures).

Contribute towards UAE’s financial inclusion and cashless society development.

Aani’s Overview:

Aani is an instant payment platform operated by Al Etihad Payments, a Central Bank of the UAE subsidiary.

Aani will enable licensed financial institutions and other payment service providers to offer a new, instant and seamless payment experience to consumers, businesses, corporates, and government entities. Aani will allow digital payments to be processed instantly, on a 24x7 basis, securely and seamlessly from anyone to anyone. 

Aani aims at modernising the payments infrastructure of the UAE, increasing financial inclusion across all segments of the society, and ultimately moving us towards a cashless society. Its services include a user-friendly and secure mobile application which allows for a wide range of payment functionalities – transferring money to a recipient’s phone number or email, payment through Proxy Payments, QR code based payments Request to Pay, and other future functionality like electronic Direct Debit Authorization, and fully digital cheques.

To allow users to familiarise with Aani’s features in a controlled manner, Aani will support payments of up to 50,000 AED at the initial stage.

Key Services, Functionalities and Features

What are the key services offered by Aani to corporates?

The key services offered by licensed financial institutions through Aani include the innovative Aani mobile application, that supports fund transfer from your existing account at licensed financial institutions and payment service providers, using only a proxy reference, such as the mobile number or email address of the beneficiary, QR code based payments, and request to pay. In the near future, Aani will also offer electronic direct debit authorisation, instant direct debit payments, and first-of-a-kind end-to-end digitised cheque, that can be issued, cleared, and settled instantly.

What are the key advantages of using Aani?

Aani offers a convenient, secure, and user-friendly way to transfer and settle funds anytime, in less than 10 seconds, based on the highest international standards and security measures. It simplifies the settlement process and delivers a real-time payment experience.

What are the differences with other existing payment solutions (e.g., e-wallets, mobile applications, payment cards)?

Aani is operated by Al Etihad Payments, a subsidiary of the Central Bank of the UAE, and offered to the market by licensed financial institutions and payment service providers. Unlike many e-wallets, Aani enables instant and ubiquitous payments experience. .

It can also be considered as an alternative of debit card payments for merchants and online shopping, leveraging real-time, 24x7 processing.

Can Aani be used to pay for Government services, utilities, and e-commerce?

Yes. Aani enables instant fund transfers to a diverse range of beneficiaries and facilitates secure payments for various services, from government payments and bills to online shopping and in-store purchases.

Will there be more services, functionalities and features available in future? If yes, what is the timetable of availability?

Aani will continue to introduce innovative functionalities, including electronic direct debit authorisation, instant direct debit payments, and the first-of-a-kind end-to-end digitised cheque.

Access to Aani

How can corporates access Aani services?   

Aani services will be made available to corporates by their licensed financial institutions or payment service providers, via their digital channels provided.

Corporates shall check with their licensed financial institutions or payment service providers to receive instructions on how to use Aani services.

When will Aani be available to corporates?

Aani will be made available, starting from second half of 2023, to all corporates who are customers of licensed financial institutions and payment service providers in the UAE. Corporates shall contact their licensed financial institutions or payment service providers to check on when such services will be made available to them.

Which licensed financial institutions and/or payment service providers will provide Aani services?

All licensed financial institutions and payment service providers that offer their services to corporate customers will gradually offer Aani services to the market. Corporate customers can contact their licensed financial institutions or payment service providers to check on when such services will be made available to them.

How can corporate customers start using Aani services?

Licensed financial institution and payment service providers, with the consent of the corporate customers, can enroll corporate customers on Aani. Once done, corporate customers can start using Aani services via the digital channels provided by their licensed financial institutions or payment service providers.

Corporate customers can contact their licensed financial institutions or payment service providers on how to start using Aani and understand what the terms and conditions are.

Where can corporate customers find further information on Aani?

Corporate customers can get in touch with their licensed financial institution or payment service provider for any further information.

Fees and Charges

What the fees and charges for accessing and using Aani services?

Fees will be determined by the licensed financial institutions or payment service providers offering the Aani services. Corporate customers can get in touch with their licensed financial institutions or payment service providers for such information.

Security and Controls

Are Aani payments secure? What are the security features offered by Aani?

Aani is developed using the best-in-class secure technology to ensure that payments processed on its network are fully secure and safe.

All payments will require authorisation to be executed, through biometrics authentication or PIN. Nevertheless, corporates are reminded of the importance of information security and should always ensure that they are initiating payments to the right beneficiaries. They should also take caution in checking the authenticity of the requesters of any payment as well as their transaction history.

If corporate customers are a victim of any security incidents, what they should do to report and contain the impact of such incidents?

If corporates believe that their account has been compromised, or a payment has been initiated without authorisation, they should immediately report the event to their licensed financial institution or payment service provider.

On-going Support

When corporates encounter any possible operational issues, what kind of support is available from Aani?

In case of any issues, corporates can get in touch immediately with their licensed financial institution or payment service provider

Are there any fees and charges for on-going support?

Fees and charges for support, if any, are determined by financial institution and payment service providers.