LuLu Exchange launches open banking service platform, partners with Wio Bank for account deposits

As a kind of game-changer, LuLu Financial Group, one of the top financial services providers in the UAE, has partnered with Wio Bank, the first platform bank in the area. The partnership has enabled Wio Business customers to make deposits and withdrawals through its network of LuLu Exchange locations.

The partnership is a first of its kind in the UAE and significantly diversifies the scope of financial services provided by LuLu Exchange by allowing it to embed banking services with its existing fintech capabilities.

Talking about the partnership, Adeeb Ahamed, MD, LuLu Financial Group, said: “We are happy to partner with Wio to introduce a 'phygital' experience for customers in the country. As early adopters of open banking, our enablement platform now equips us to partner seamlessly with financial institutions that want to design hyper-local customer experiences. Our partnership with Wio is a real-world use-case of how our fintech capabilities combined with our network of branches can serve customers across the financial ecosystem, so much better.”

Prateek Vahie, chief commercial officer of Wio Bank, said: “At Wio, we seek to simplify banking so customers can focus on managing their business instead. We are pleased to partner with Lulu Exchange and leverage their vast network in the UAE to help Wio Business customers deposit and withdraw funds conveniently. With this new provision, we expect to further improve access for customers and in turn, transform the banking sector in the country.”

In the first phase, LuLu Exchange has activated only the cash deposit facility for Wio Business customers, with a cash withdrawal service set to be launched soon. Wio Business is the bank’s first digital banking application that enables startups, freelancers and SMEs with seamless access to business banking services.

With its open banking service platform now live, LuLu Exchange aims to onboard more financial institutions that can pass on the benefit of the phygital experience to their retail as well as corporate customers. The company already caters to a substantial MSME customer base who can benefit from such partnerships, being as it is among the leading facilitators of UAE’s Wage Protection Scheme (WPS).