The Commercial Bank of Dubai (CBD) has announced a partnership agreement with the Federal Electricity and Water Authority (Fewa), marked by a signing ceremony at the utility’s Dubai offices, to provide payments and cash management solutions.

The bank said that through the partnership: “CBD will support Fewa in improving its payments and receivables processes by providing them with innovative digital banking solutions to improve operational efficiencies.”

“CBD is pleased to partner with Fewa to help automate their receivables processes through innovative digital solutions,” said Fahad Al Muhairi, the bank’s general manager, Islamic banking.

“In line with the United Arab Emirates’ (UAE) vision to be a knowledge-based productive and competitive economy based on the pillars of innovation, research, science and technology, CBD has been instrumental in driving digital transformation aand investing in state-of-the-art technology to provide customers with bespoke, innovative cash management solutions.

“These solutions have helped increase efficiencies by optimising and streamlining processes and helping them to provide exceptional experience to their customers.”

Digital transformation

Shaikha Murad Karam, acting director of finance for Fewa said: “As part of Fewa’s efforts to fully automate its process within its overall digital transformation plan, it sought to sign this partnership agreement with CBD, through which Fewa will have access to a range of payments and cash management solutions for automation of its receivables.

The remote cheque scanning solution from CBD enables Fewa to process current and post-dated cheques across their branch offices.”

Karam added that the partnership with CBD will help achieve a set of mutual benefits for both Fewa and its customers. For the client, it guarantees the payment of dues upon submitting the cheque without any delays, and for Fewa it improves the turnaround time needed to collect the receivables, as well as saving time and effort and offering ease of use.

Amol Bahuguna, CBD’s head of payments and cash management, said: “We understand and recognise our customers’ needs in terms of payments and cash management, and offer them robust, bespoke and scalable cash management services across all industry segments, allowing them to manage cash more efficiently and help them reduce operational challenges and risk.

“We continue to invest in innovative technologies in all payment and cash management areas including liquidity and receivables management, virtual accounts, and online and mobile banking”.

Last September, CBD signed an agreement with PwC Middle East for a one-year innovation initiative to accelerate its digitisation programme by collaborating with fintech start-ups and leveraging emerging technology as a tool to solve key business problems, improve efficiency and identify new opportunities across all areas of business.

Fewa recently announced that it will have a 20% stake in a consortium undertaking a US$900 million project to construct the UAE’s largest desalination plant in the northern emirates to date.