Dubai, United Arab Emirates – Skiply, the educational mobile payment app powered by RAKBANK that provides secure transactions for schools, universities, nurseries and educational institutions in the UAE, in partnership with Visa, a world leader in digital payments, has announced “Visa Installments Solution (VIS)” is officially live for school payments in the UAE.

According to the agreement, holders of Visa credit cards from eligible banks[1] can choose “Visa Installments” at checkout when entering their Visa card number to proceed for payment.  They will be presented with options to divide their school payments into smaller, equal payments for better budget management. 

"We are delighted to see ‘Visa Instalment Solution’ live for school payments in the UAE. Thanks to our partners Skiply and RAKBANK, Visa credit cardholders can manage their school and tuition payments more effectively. This is Visa’s latest effort to drive responsible payment innovations across key sectors in line with the UAE government’s commitment to financial wellbeing and convenience for residents and consumers,” said Salima Gutieva, Visa’s VP and Country Manager for UAE. 

Abdallah Muhana Jamil, Vice President-Skiply Program & Head of Education Payment Solutions, RAKBANK said: “Launching the Visa Installment Solution on Skiply represents a significant advancement in making education payments more accessible for families in the UAE. By enabling parents to spread out school fees, we’re helping to ease financial pressures and provide greater flexibility. This partnership with Visa and RAKBANK aligns with our commitment to delivering awesome customer experiences and practical payment solutions that meet the evolving needs of our users".

The partnership comes at a time when consumers are increasingly seeking easy installment payment options that align with their financial needs and preferences. In fact, a recent survey by Visa in the UAE revealed that 64% of respondents are interested in installments solutions and 52% said instalments would help them better manage their finances. Visa and partners like Skiply and RAKBank are committed to empowering consumers with enhanced financial convenience and prudential financial services as well as flexibility through the innovative installment solution.

VIS is a real-time API-based platform that unites key stakeholders in the payment ecosystem, including issuing banks, payment processors, merchants, and payment facilitators. For issuing banks, VIS allows them to help increase cardholder engagement and loyalty while for acquiring banks it is a new value-added service that can help their merchant partners increase sales volume and conversion rates.  According to Visa’s survey, 52% of respondents would choose a merchant that offers instalments over a competitor that does not.

In October 2023, Visa announced it is working with local issuers and acquirers in UAE to ensure they are technologically ready to offer Visa Installment Solution to consumers by early 2024. The UAE joins Canada, United States, United Kingdom, Hong Kong and Malaysia, in enabling VIS to transform the checkout experience for consumers. 

To learn more about Visa Installments Solution, please visit Visa Installments.

[1] https://ae.visamiddleeast.com/en_AE/products/consumer-installments.html