Etisalat & Visa join for online payments and laptop draws

Every Etisalat customer who registers with their Visa card and makes a successful transaction before 31st October 2007 will have the chance to win one of 25 laptops. Five laptops are being offered during GITEX from 8th to 12th September 2007, and 5 laptops a week will be given to winners until 31st October.

"Etisalat customers can enjoy greater control of their finances by setting fixed budgets and making regular, scheduled payments using their Visa credit cards with Etisalat's 'Auto-Pay' service. We are pleased to offer secure and automated payments for mobile, fixed line, Internet & E-vision bills, bringing the convenience of e-commerce to our customers," said Essa Al Haddad, Chief Marketing Officer at Etisalat.

During GITEX Technology Week, anyone who registers for the service and concludes a transaction will be automatically entered to have a chance to win a new laptop every day. This draw will take place daily at Etisalat's stand in Zabeel Hall at 5pm.

Essa Al Haddad continued: "Etisalat's Mobile Payment Service removes the inconvenience of long queues, travel time and missed payments and offers multiple benefits like accounting consolidation, part-payment of bills, Wasel renewal and recharge and more. Partnering with Visa in this promotion is a great way to educate the consumer to the benefits of online payments and we are delighted to be working with them for this promotion."

Commenting on the launch of this competition, Norliza Kissam, Vice President of Marketing, Visa International, said; "Visa continuously strives to make bill payment as convenient as possible for cardholders and to encourage cardholders to use their cards for everyday spending. 'Auto Pay' is an efficient means of payment that frees up a cardholders' time. We are delighted that our cardholders have the added opportunity to win these fantastic laptops as well as gaining greater control of managing their finances with this online payment service from Etisalat".

Customers can register multiple accounts - fixed-line, Internet, E-vision and mobile. For each service that is registered, the customer gains one entry to the draw, so if a customer registers for both their mobile and fixed-line service, they have two chances to win.

Etisalat will keep its customers updated on transactions made against their Auto-Pay account via SMS. An SMS is also sent in situations when there are insufficient funds on the credit card. This provides customers the flexibility to either use a different credit card or make alternate payment arrangements to continue enjoying uninterrupted service.