Visa (NYSE:V), a global payments technology company, today signed a multi-year partnership with Global Loyalty Company (GLC), to develop a range of co-branded credit, debit and charge cards in the UAE, Saudi Arabia, India, Germany, Italy and Serbia.

The GLC manages the four frequent flyer programmes of Etihad Airways Partners (Etihad Airways, airberlin, Alitalia, Jet Airways, Air Serbia, Air Seychelles, Etihad Regional, and NIKI). The frequent flyer programmes include Etihad Guest, MilleMiglia, topbonus and JetPrivilege. This partnership will see the GLC issuing Visa products across the UAE, India, Italy, Germany, Saudi Arabia and Serbia, and will also look to expand to new markets.

The partnership between the GLC and Visa will provide a unique and collaborative platform to deliver world leading travel payment products to Etihad Airways Partners’ frequent flyers. Card propositions will incorporate travel related benefits from Visa’s global platform backed by all the security, trust and global acceptance the Visa brand represents.

Commenting on the partnership, Kamran Siddiqi, Group Executive – Central & Eastern Europe, Middle East & Africa region, Visa, said: “This partnership will bring together Etihad’s unique loyalty platform with Visa’s expertise to create an industry-leading suite of payment cards. Customers of eight airlines in six countries and on three continents will be able to earn points on their everyday spends, which can then be redeemed across the Etihad Airways Partners’ network.”

Darren Peisley, Chief Executive Officer, Hala Group, added: “Today, over one million of our most engaged customers have co-branded card products. The traditional payments industry continues to be shaped by new innovations. Working with Visa will ensure we stay at the forefront of payment innovations, delivering leading payment products to our joint customers and ultimately provide increased value to our financial services partners.”

Recently, the Etihad Airways Partners launched a set of common benefits available to frequent flyer members in order to continue to deliver the best flying experience for guests travelling across the eight airlines. Frequent flyer members highly value their co-branded financial products and are an extremely valuable customer segment for the GLC, Visa and financial services partners.

The partnership was signed during a ceremony at the Etihad Innovation Centre in Abu Dhabi by Darren Peisley, Yasser Al Yousuf, Managing Director, Etihad Guest; Kamran Siddiqi, and Ihab Ayoub, Visa General Manager – Middle East and North Africa region.

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