IMGCAP(1)]
Dubai First, a payment card issuer based in the United Arab Emirates, is working with Dubai-based telecommunications firm Du to test contactless purchases using Near Field Communication technology, Ibrahim Al Ansari, Dubai First CEO, tells CardLine Global. The test will involve some 250 Dubai First customers with MasterCard-branded platinum cards, he says. The test, scheduled to run six months, will enable consumers to make contactless purchases of up to 100 dirhams (US$27 or 20 euros) at a Dubai beachside shopping area, The Walk at Jumeirah Beach Residence, Ansari says. "We will evaluate the usage of the technology together … and then determine the strategy for rolling out the program in the Middle East and North Africa," he says. A spokesperson for Du tells CardLine Global the company has more than 2.7 million subscribers.
