MasterCard APMEA Product Forum 2008 awards four Middle East customer financial institutions

The awards ceremony saw four customer financial institutions in the Middle East being awarded for their excellence in promoting growth, technology and innovation in the payments industry.

This is the fourth Product Awards hosted by MasterCard as a way of celebrating the many successful card product developments implemented by customer financial institutions and, the often unsung heroes, industry vendors and technology partners.

This year the awards covered a total of 23 categories in which 32 separate awards were presented including Best Innovative Card Programmes, Commercial Payments Solutions, E-Commerce Partner and Innovation in Technology. The four award winners from the Middle East were Dubai First (UAE) for their Royale MasterCard card program, Emirates NBD (UAE) for their Dnata Co-brand Card, Mashreqbank (UAE) for their MasterCard Gateway Services and National Commercial Bank (KSA) for their MasterCard Gateway Services in the Kingdom. Awards were also presented to MasterCard customer financial institutions in India, South Africa and markets within Asia/Pacific.

Award winners were selected based on their illustration of 'best in class' performance, helping to raise the bar in innovation, creativity and support of card programs. Nominees were also judged on considerations, such as delivering a market or industry first.

Denzil Lawson, General Manager, Middle East and Levant, MasterCard Worldwide, said:

"We would like to congratulate the winners of this year's Product Awards. Each winner has raised the bar in further establishing the payments industry in the Middle East region. We commend each of our customers in taking the lead in introducing payments solutions that are relevant to the needs of consumers in the Middle East. We look forward to continuously working closely with our customers to deliver the latest cutting edge technology and award winning payment solutions to cardholders throughout the Middle East."