Al Etihad Payments Partners with Montran for Enhanced Cross-Border Instant Payment Integration

Al Etihad Payments Collaborates with Montran for Enhanced Cross-Border Instant Payment Integration

Al Etihad Payments (AEP), a subsidiary of the Central Bank of the UAE and the operator of Aani, the national instant payments platform, has embarked on a significant collaboration with Montran. This partnership centers on the implementation of a state-of-the-art International Remittance Processing (IRP) Gateway designed to facilitate seamless cross-border payments.

This initiative aligns with the UAE's vision for a modern, interoperable financial infrastructure, marking a crucial step towards enhanced connectivity with other national instant payment systems. AEP's strategic roadmap under the national payment systems strategy aims to bolster Aani’s capabilities beyond national borders, ensuring that UAE maintains its competitive edge in the global financial landscape.

However, achieving interoperability has posed significant technical and operational challenges. The variation in foreign payment systems' standards and formats complicates the integration process. Additionally, the need for real-time, 24/7 payment processing, coupled with differing compliance frameworks and manual exchange inefficiencies, further complicates AEP's objectives.

To address these challenges, AEP has chosen Montran's IRP Gateway solution, a robust platform that interlinks authorized financial institutions in the UAE, the Aani platform, and international instant payment infrastructures. The IRP Gateway adjusts various bilateral protocols into a single, ISO 20022-certified standard, which ensures real-time message transformation and open API interoperability. This unified approach encompasses rule-based routing, exchange operations management, pre-funding, and settlement tasks while ensuring instant processing and comprehensive security and compliance.

With the implementation of this new gateway, licensed financial institutions within the UAE will gain the capability to send and receive instant cross-border payments efficiently. Meanwhile, AEP will maintain full operational control and visibility throughout the funding transfer process, ensuring transparency and reliability.

In its initial deployment phase, the IRP Gateway will integrate with India's Unified Payments Interface (UPI), leveraging Montran's proven track record as a certified partner of NPCI and its experience in integrating with prominent Indian banks. The global expertise of Montran in establishing instant payment infrastructures for central banks and regulators significantly influenced this selection process, ensuring that AEP will embark on this journey on a strong foundation.

Matt Walsh, General Manager for Montran MENA, stated, "We are proud to support AEP's mission to create a borderless, real-time payment ecosystem. Our IRP Gateway enables national systems to connect securely and effectively across borders on a large scale."

About Montran

Montran is a leading provider of payment and capital market infrastructure solutions, serving premier financial institutions with critical operations in over 90 countries. To learn more, visit www.montran.com.

About Al Etihad Payments

Established in 2023 by the Central Bank of the UAE, Al Etihad Payments oversees a world-class financial market infrastructure development and operates the Aani instant payment platform, spearheading the UAE's national payment systems strategy.