Deals of the Week: UNB credit card offers 6.54 per cent annual rate

Plus, Emirates NBD partners with Etisalat and Visa to launch a programme to pay for items with your smartphone.

Union National Bank is offering a credit card with a low 6.54 per cent annual interest rate for its customers. Pawan Singh / The National

With annual credit-card interest rates generally hovering around the 30 per cent or more mark, consumers in the Emirates are in for a treat.

For the next three months, Union National Bank (UNB) is offering an annual rate of 6.54 per cent on its Platinum credit card. That's a monthly rate of just 0.54 per cent.

The rate, the lowest currently on offer in the UAE, is available to customers with a minimum income of Dh15,000 who have their salary transferred into the bank.

The free-for-life card also comes with a credit limit of up to eight times the customer's salary as well as free Marhaba and Golden Class airport services and discounts at more than 300 outlets.

"As the bank that cares, we believe in providing our customers with genuine financial solutions to meet their various needs," says Ashraf Bibars, senior vice president and head of retail banking at UNB. "It's a first for the bank and a first for the UAE. We are extremely excited about this offer and look forward to a very positive response from customers."

For more information log onto:www.unb.co.ae.

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Paying for your shopping using a smartphone may seem light years away, but the reality is closer than you think.

Emirates NBD (ENBD) has teamed up with Etisalat and Visa to launch MoneyMobile, a contactless payment solution that allows users to pay for purchases with a single wave of their near-field-communication (NFC) enabled mobile device near a Visa payWave terminal.

The use of NFC, a technology programme that connects smartphones with retailers, could eventually make cash and credit cards obsolete.

"Mobile payments are quickly becoming the way of the future as the widespread adoption of mobile technology changes how people connect with each other. Users will enjoy the ease and convenience of simply scanning their phone to pay as they breeze through the checkout in stores," says Kamran Siddiqi, general manager, Visa Middle East.

The MoneyMobile system is currently being tested by selected staff at Emirates NBD, Etisalat and Visa before the service is rolled out to all consumers.

"Offering multiple levels of security, the MoneyMobile solution clearly represents the retail experience of the future," says R Sivaram, senior vice president and head of cards business for ENDB. "As we move towards a world of contactless solutions that make shopping easier than ever before, Emirates NBD will continue to stand at the forefront of innovation."

Tap-and-go technology has been used in Japan for the last six years and has been trialled in several countries in Europe.

For more information, go to www.emiratesbank.ae.