Dubai-based Mashreq Bank’s new credit card service will enable customers to make instant money transfers to all banks in India and Pakistan, with no fees or cash advance charges.

The service can be accessed through the bank’s mobile banking app, Snapp, which is also designed to make remittance transfers. “Borrowing on the card is always subject to the customer’s creditworthiness and financial situation, and the eligibility is based on that,” Rohit Garg, Head of Remittances at Mashreq Bank, told Zawya.

He went on to explain that the app now included the Mashreq credit card as an option during payments for remittances. “Customers should log on to Snapp, verify their credentials, initiate the remittance and then select the account to be debited from the drop-down menu: current account, savings account or credit card.”

Mashreq expects the new feature to be especially popular among expatriate customers as it has been added to its Quick Remit platform, which allows customers to transfer money remotely at any time in the day. This platform has seen a 73 percent increase in remittances for the bank since its introduction.

“As we expand Quick Remit to other countries, this service will also be expanded,” Garg told Zawya.

When asked whether the bank expects a surge in retail customers due to credit card remittance service, Garg said: "We have enabled this service for customer convenience and in case the customer has an urgent need to send some funds and has a few days gap in salary credit or receiving a payment. We want our customers to not miss out on any important occasion or celebration back home due to temporary fund delay and that remains the primary purpose of the this service." 

The lender is shifting focus to digital operations through 'smart banks' and will close 50 percent of its branches in the UAE this year as part of a digital transformation, its chief executive Abdulaziz al-Ghurair said in April. 

(Writing by Seban Scaria seban.scaria@refinitiv.com, editing by Daniel Luiz)

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