An A to Z guide on payment options in the United Arab Emirates

Be it shopping for clothes in the UAE or your daily needs, the many payment options available, right from cash, to credit and debit cards, might be confusing; especially for a first-timer. So what should you use? Read on to know-

Cash

Accepted across local markets and high-end stores, this is the most versatile mode of payment. The official currency of the Emirates is Dirhams. You can exchange your currency at the various Money exchange companies that dot the streets throughout the Emirates. Also, you have the option of getting Dirhams at your origin airport or any airport in the UAE. However, it is preferable to scout for the best rate and go for the exchange company that offers it. It is the most widely used mode of payment in the UAE as it does not attract any additional charges. The only risk is theft.

Cheque

Cheques are amongst the least used mode of payment today. They are used in case of large transactions. You get a cheque book when you open a bank account. However, you need to be cautious when issuing a cheque; because a cheque bounce, might attract a significant penalty and even land you behind bars.

Credit card

This is the second-most preferred mode of payment with more than half of the population using credit cards for making their payments regularly. Credit cards offer the convenience of not having to worry about your bank balance while using them. Also, you can easily split the purchase into EMIs when purchasing so that you can pay as per convenience. Also, the complimentary offers that come with the credit cards and the rewards on shopping, dining and travel, make it an attractive option for the residents and especially expatriates.

Debit card

The debit card is the next popular mode of payment. Debit cards offer more security and control over your purchases. It is protected via a highly secure four-digit PIN, and a majority of the banks even offer you the option of a code sent to your mobile to authorize the transactions. You can also use Debit cards at ATMs to withdraw cash from your account. Unlike credit cards, the use of debit cards for purchase does not attract transaction charges. However, using a debit card to withdraw cash from any ATM of a bank other than your own, is chargeable.

Prepaid cards

These cards are similar to debit cards, with the only difference being that you need not have a bank account. The prepaid card can be used across the Emirates as well as abroad for transactions. Some companies even offer the added advantage of withdrawing money from selected ATMs. Besides, shopping with partnered brands can also earn you rewards, cashback and reward points. The cards are available at petrol pumps as well as other partner outlets.

Online Banking

Your credit card and debit cards enable you to make payments or transfer funds online. It makes online shopping a breeze. The transactions are conducted using secure payment gateways, and hence are safe.

Digital payment

Digital payments are a big thing in the UAE. Making payments via the phone is convenient and relatively safe; As a result, the usage of mobile wallets is increasing. There are many players in the digital payments market like Trriple Payments, Beam Wallet, Bridg, Cardtek, Mashreq Bank, Emirates NBD, OMA Emirates and Network International. Apple Pay and Samsung Pay, too, are widely used for the convenience they offer. Meanwhile, 16 banks in the UAE are coming up with a digital payment solution called Klip to promote cashless economy and support the central bank of the UAE.

While making a purchase always remember to check for additional charges and other fees on the method of payments you will be using. Also, look for rewards and points to make the most of your purchase.

Get rewarded for spending money!

A good cash back card makes spending money (literally) worth your while. We enumerate how it can help you save up on essential spends.

As human beings, we are hardwired to look for benefits and rewards in whatever we do. Case in point: coming across a sale on clothes at your favourite store. You cannot pass up the chance to get a good bargain on some new clothing, because it means that you’re spending less to get more.

Banks in the UAE use this same desire for rewards when offering customers cash back cards.

How a cash back card works

A cash back card is a credit card that offers a host of rewards in the form of cash back for spending money for certain categories of goods and services, and/or at member retail outlets (i.e. partners with the bank offering you the card). The cash back is a rebate on the overall percentage of spending on the card. Some banks even have the same reward system for debit cards.

The leading banks in the country offer cash back cards with excellent benefits, such as:

·         Up to 10% cash back on groceries, school and university fees, dining out, and telecom expenses.

·         You get 3% cash back on groceries, dining out, school and university fees, and telecom expenses for expenses in the range of AED 2,500 to 7,499.

·         You get 5% cash back on groceries, dining out, school and university fees, and telecom expenses, for expenses in the range of AED 7,500 to 14,999.

·         You get 10% cash back on expenses above AED 15,000.

·         You can call the bank’s designated number to redeem the cash back points whenever you wish.

·         The cash back points are considered valid for a period of two years, during which time you may redeem them. But you must have minimum 100 cash back points to redeem.

Why get a cash back credit card?

There are a few significant perks to using a credit card that has a good reward points system in place. They are:

* Save money: Since you’re going to use your credit card anyway, you might as well have an incentive to do so. Cash back points are a great incentive, especially when they are offered on daily spends.

* No need to keep track: The best banks in the UAE offer this category of credit card, and they are diligent about recording your spends and keeping score of the cash back points you earn. Thus, you don’t need to keep track of your reward points by yourself.

* Simple redemption: Whenever you feel that you want to redeem the reward points, you can simply place a request online or use the bank’s designated redemption phone number to do so. No other action is necessary to receive the cash back.

5 reasons to take a personal finance solution

Leading banks in the country offer financial solutions for a range of needs. Both expats and residents can avail of these.

Life is full of many surprising twists, and you try and navigate them to the best of your ability. However, certain situations require more money than you have at your disposal. It could be in relation to an emergency medical procedure that a family member needs to undergo in a foreign hospital. Or an investment opportunity you wish to explore.

Whatever the nature of the need, you will require a personal finance solution to see you through. Your bank can help you meet the requirement with a Shari’a compliant financial solution at this point.

What are the circumstances under which you may require a personal finance solution? Consider these:

#1 To pay house rent.

Paying rent is an imperative expense, whether you are seeking to live in a rental accommodation for a short period or a longer duration. Suppose you have shifted into a rental home while you redesign your house. You can take a personal finance solution like a short-term borrowing to pay the house rent while you finish the refurbishing of your premises. Or you could be in the process of saving up to buy a house and be lodged in a rental home at the moment. A personal funding solution can help pay the rent.

#2 To finance your home remodel.

Apart from paying rent, you can even take a personal finance solution to finance the remodel of your house. House construction, repairs and renovation result in extensive costs, which you may not wish to spend upfront from your available reserves. Finance from a leading bank in the UAE can help pay for the costs of remodelling the house. This ensures that there is no stoppage of work due to lack of funding for the same.

#3 To pay for children’s higher education.

If your dearest wish is to send your child away to a prestigious foreign university, then you can make this dream come true by availing of a good Murabaha-based finance solution that offers up to 2 mn Dh for expats and up to 4 mn Dh for UAE nationals. All the costs – tuition fees for the year, accommodation, course fees, study trips, etc. – can be funded comfortably from this solution.

#4 To take a long vacation abroad.

Travel broadens your horizons, and you look for every opportunity to travel abroad with your family. However, you have been putting off taking a long trip extending a few months with your family, fearing the high costs of such a holiday. Why put off your dream holiday for later when you can buy it today? Leading banks in the UAE are offering financial solutions to fund your foreign holiday with reasonable profit rates and quick processing. So, start booking your tickets and pack your bags!

#5 To fund your sabbatical from work.

There comes a time when you contemplate a change of career, or seek a few months off from work to resolve your health problems and personal issues. However, you worry about paying household expenses when you take time off from work. At this juncture, you can apply for a finance solution to meet the demands of the months that you will not be making an income. The solution comes with a low profit rate and with a repayment period of up to 4 years, so your personal reserves are not dented in a major way when you repay the loan.

A sneak peek into NBK Capital's Equity Capital Market Group

NBK Capital’s ECM Division is going great guns by brokering top tier deals and helping clients realise the full potential of their portfolios.

In today’s competitive times, it helps to stay a few steps ahead of other entities in the same marketplace. A key area of financial growth and funding is the Equity Capital market (ECM), which requires constant innovation and up-to-the-minute information for investors to prosper. The ECM is a marketplace that caters to both individual investors and companies (traders) and which involves one more important entity: the online brokerage firm.

Online brokerage firms in Kuwait, such as the reputed NBK Capital, exist to help companies raise equity capital for future growth. The ECM arena helps companies raise money through marketing, private placements and IPOs, stocks, swaps, new issue allocation, futures and derivatives, among others. A brokerage firm such as NBK Capital helps clients navigate the challenging ECM universe and raise valuable Kuwaiti private equity for the future.

Further, NBK Capital helps raise Kuwaiti private equity by helping companies set financial benchmarks, strategise their goals and leverage existing tools and resources for the best results. This is done by constant market analysis and reading research reports, restructuring when needed, guidance in transaction structuring, etc.

NBK Capital’s past deals read like a veritable Who’s Who of the ECM arena: its ECM portfolio comprises both regional and international corporations. Some of these prominent names are Saudi Telecom, Jazeera Airways, Qurain Petrochemicals, Kout Food Group and Viva. It advises major corporations on top tier listings in the GCC through its reputed listing advisory services, IPO and public placement, among others. Consider the firm’s recent prominent deals:

•          KD 66 mn Mezzan IPO (only IPO to come out in 2015)
•          Viva KSE listing in the year 2014
•          Zain Bahrain IPO, 2014
•          Visa International IPO, 2008
•          Ikarus Petroleum Industries private placement, listing on KSE, both in 2008
•          Jazeera Airways KSE listing, 2008
•          Kout Food Group KSE listing, private placement, both in 2006
•          Al Qurain Pharmaceuticals public placement, 2004

NBK Capital goes beyond mere planning and structuring, to actively perform mentoring duties for all its clients to help them achieve success in ECM. Thus, it oversees and performs functionalities such as underwriting, lead management, financial and private investment advisory, and co-management, among many others. Thus, companies looking to raise some much necessary Kuwaiti private equity would do well to partner with the region’s leading brokerage firm – NBK Capital – and pave their own way to financial success!

Online Broking Services: Trade successfully across the globe!

The Internet has opened up new avenues for personal life and business, and online trading is now being adopted by more and more traders for its ease and convenience.

For years now, stock markets around the world have used their stock tools of the trade – a trading terminal, a screen showing real time stock prices from around the world, and a telephone connection. It was not easy to trade on the stock markets without being on the market floors, without brokers and associates shouting into your headpiece at every minute!

Cut to the present, when the Internet is such an integral part of our lives. The digital medium has introduced real time functionality into our daily lives – long queues and wait times are now a thing of the past, because every kind of transaction can be completed online within mere minutes. Whether it is a major business transferring payments to its vendors, or a person making bill payments, the online medium offers speed and convenience like nothing else can.

This is especially true in terms of online trading. More and more investors and traders today are preferring to trade online, because they get instant access to the global markets and can transact from anywhere in the world. Along with the rise of online trading is seen the rise of online brokerage services – these are offered by reputed financial institutions that have a wide network of access to the global markets, and can offer their customers the same access at any point of time.

Why online brokerage services matter

Not all traders and investors can have up-to-the-minute financial analyses at their fingertips, and many are not able to access to the stock exchanges outside the GCC region. In this scenario, investment advisory firms offer unfettered access to the major markets of the world in a seamless fashion. The online brokerage services portfolio of experienced firms includes functionalities such as viewing portfolios, trading stocks in real time, latest research and market analysis reports, transaction history compiled for each client, etc.

The best online brokerage services firms also use the smartest and latest technology in online trading to offer functionalities like portfolio analysis tools, real time prices and indices, advanced charting and also mobile trading capabilities.

Thus, equipped with the latest information and the best tools, traders can now trade seamlessly across the globe, from remote locations and in the correct business hours. The online connectivity also offers an instant glimpse into market fluctuations and how major world events affects stock prices, thus allowing the opportunity for immediate adjustment of short term financial goals.

What You Need To Know Before Moving To Oman

Breathtakingly beautiful and welcoming of foreigners, you will enjoy living and working in Oman. But there are a few things to brush up on before you go there.

Countries of the Middle East have long been perceived as mysterious, exotic locations full of beautiful people, endless stretches of desert and the most delicious food. It is only upon visiting these countries that you realise how developed and progressive they are. Oman is one such country.

Oman attracts a fair share of expats looking to work, study and live in the country. It doesn’t matter if you are low on budget, finance companies in Oman will offer you every possible aid when it comes to finding a decent accommodation.  Oman offers a financially and emotionally rewarding experience that you will cherish forever. But before you leave for Oman, do consider that –

* Oman goes way beyond Muscat. Most expats are familiar only with Muscat, but there are other places of interest, too. The neighbouring town of Salalah booms with a lot of foreigners living there. There is also Sur, which is said to be the home of Sinbad the Sailor, and the Hajar Mountains where you can find mud houses built 400 years ago.

* Knowing the Government structure is important. Oman is divided into 11 Muhafazah, meaning Governorates, which collectively have 60 Wilyats, or districts. Of these, Muscat is the most developed, with modern infrastructure and stunning beauty comprising a long coastline framed by mountains.

* The people are really cool. Don’t go to Oman harbouring false notions about the locals. The Omanis are warm, culturally sensitive people who are used to foreigners. They have an extremely open mind about other people’s cultures – and you should, about theirs. You will not be disturbed needlessly, nor will there be any interference in your way of life here. Women feel safe in the country, and they can go about their work and leisure as they wish. Non-Muslim women are not expected to wear a veil.

* Your work week begins on Sunday. Oman, like many other countries in the region, observes a weekly holiday on Friday, the holy day of prayer. Saturday is the other weekly off observed in the country. This means that your work week begins on Sunday and the weekend comes on Thursday.

* The temperatures are extreme. Oman enjoys a typical desert climate, where the summer and winter is quite harsh and the rainfall is scanty. Be prepared for blistering heat and near-freezing cold! The humidity is also at its peak in the summer months, with mean temperatures climbing above 40°C in some cases.

* Getting a house and car is easy. You can find myriad finance companies in Oman wishing to help you buy your own car. Your company can find you suitable accommodation, or you can look for a good rental house online. There are well-known finance companies in Oman who can help you secure funding to buy a vehicle, expensive home appliances, gadgets like phones and computers, and funding to start your own business in the country. 

When it comes to Corporate Bonds, Turn to NBK Capital

Investment is always a fine way to maintain a fantastic security for your income. It, however, depends on what you are investing in, but suffice to say, it does yields a desired result. Of course, investments are subjected to risks and making sure on what you are investing in crucial to maintain a credible option of investment. If you are a risk-taker and have the provisions to do so, then investing in shares will be the perfect option. Similarly, corporate bonds will also help you to gain more in return, than you had invested.

Corporate Bonds Involve Risks, But Yields High Returns

A corporate bond is a debt security that has been issued by a corporation and sold to investors. Since it is associated with a private corporation, corporate bonds are prone to a higher risk than a government bond. Hence, the interest rates provided on corporate bonds are always higher than that of a government bond. This allows you to gain a favorable return against the amount you invested. People often opt for corporate bonds as they serve as a good source of investment, assuring a worthy return.

In most of the cases, you will have to take a huge leap in the risk factor, as any corporation has the ability to go down under, without a moment’s notice. This may cause for a sharp fall on the amount that you invested, but if your investment gets the time to mature, then you are certainly in for a treat. It is for this reason that most investors are advised to invest on corporate bonds offered by credible corporations, so that they can protect themselves form any such financial crisis.

NBK Capital Will Be Your Guide For Corporate Bonds

If you need any such information on how to invest in corporate bonds, and which one to choose and which to avoid, NBK Capital will be your guide all along the way. NBK Capital is a leading investment management firm in the Middle East region, committed in setting the standard for innovative financial products and services. It is a world-class investment house, which functions on the basis of its customer-centric approach that allows it to focus on the needs of the customers rather than fuelling its own interest.

NBK Capital is dedicated to make its customer’s investment a hugely fruitful one. It will guide you all along your corporate bond investments, and will provide you with the necessary ideas on which corporation will be a good option for you and which one have a bad reputation, which you most certainly must avoid. NBK Capital makes it easier for their customers to move in this financial world and any layman can make suitable choices for investment with the help of NBK Capital.

NBK Capital was bestowed with the prestigious international awards due to their thorough strategy to create value for their investors and clients and for their effective dedication and hard work to cater to innumerable clients ranging from simple individuals to high-net-worth individuals.

http://www.investopedia.com/terms/c/corporatebond.asp

https://nbkcapital.com/

https://nbkcapital.com/2016/nbk-capital-awarded-deal-year-2016-banker-magazine/