This feature will provide the corporate direct SWIFT access to banks facilitating the exchange of financial information through an extremely secure, standardized communication platform. Traditionally used by banks for inter-bank operability; this network has now become available to corporate clients.

First Gulf Bank has adopted SWIFT for corporates as it will induce cost reduction and increase effective connectivity to partners. SWIFT was implemented, placed in channels to increase transaction processing capabilities, increase visibility on cash, centralized control, while having a clear mind on security and reliability. In a MA-CUG or in a SCORE, the multinational companies can benefit from the SWIFTNet FIN single gateway connecting them to all their banks - First Gulf Bank being one of them - for all their transaction and reporting needs.

Our thorough SWIFT for Corporates program provides:

• Financial information exchange: payments, cash management, treasury, trade and reporting.
• Key messaging services through SWIFTNet FIN and FileACT.
• Single BIC solution for Straight-Through-Processing.
• MA-CUG (Member Administered Closed User Group) and SCORE (Standardized Corporate Environment) participation models capability are provided by First Gulf Bank.
• Compatibility with most common file formats, including EDIFACT, XML IS020022 and other local/proprietary options.

Pledging commitment to excellence in customer service, First Gulf Bank has invested in SWIFT Bank Readiness Certification, providing our clients with concrete knowledge and full utility in SWIFT-related decision makings.

For more details on FGB's SWIFT for Corporates proposition, please contact:
Hani AlSiksek, Senior Manager, Transaction Banking - Abu Dhabi - hani.alsiksek@fgb.ae
Sangeetha Menon, Senior Manager, Transaction Banking - Dubai - sangeetha.menon@fgb.ae

In line with our commitment to deliver products and services that address the needs of a dynamic economy, perpetuate progress and meet customer requirements, FGB brings FirstValue, a remote cheque deposit service in accordance with guidelines circulated by the Central Bank of UAE. FirstValue is a ground-breaking service introduced for the first time in the GCC which offers cheque collection in a convenient, secure and customer friendly manner.

Through First Value, corporate customers will be able to digitally scan all their collection cheques using special ICCS scanners facilitated by FGB, at their convenience from their office premises. The scanned cheque images along with necessary data will be electronically transmitted to FGB in a highly secure manner. Cheques will be cleared by the issuing bank on the basis of cheque images received. Credit will be passed into customer accounts on Day 0 (by day end on receipt of fate of the cheque). The physical cheques should be delivered at the banks counter next day by 4 pm. FirstValue also delivers the following additional benefits:

• Faster availability of funds and improved working capital management
• Cheque pick-up can also be arranged for the customer under FGB's dedicated courier arrangement
• Reduction in administrative costs
• Outsource of a non core activity to the bank, thereby increasing productivity
• Generation of current and historic reports for better decision making
• Availability of online information

In order to avail this service, corporate customers are required to sign a master agreement along with a service activation form. These documents will form the basis of FirstValue and clearly specify all roles, responsibilities and indemnities. In case of customers opting for cheque pick-up service, they will be required to enter into an agreement with a FGB approved courier so that physical cheques can be delivered at the bank's counter next day by 4:00 pm.

For more information and to avail of FirstValue, please contact your relationship manager or email us at transactionbanking@fgb.ae

FGB has recently launched cash, cheque and document pickup and delivery services under their FirstCollect product suite. In order to adhere to extremely high service and security standards, FGB has strategically tied up with service providers to deliver these specialized services.

Key Features

Doorstep banking will enable the corporate customers to:

• Have cash physically picked up from site in a secured manner.
• Enjoy pickup and delivery of other documents including bank statements, trade documents, bank advices, etc.
• Pre-scheduled time-specific and ad-hoc service.
• Ensure improved turnaround time for credit to its operating account through proactive collection of cash and cheques.
• Flexible timings for cash pickup spanning to late night services.
• Provision of specialized management information reports to strengthen controls and ease reconciliation.

Benefits

The services offered shall provide following benefits:

• Secure cash, cheque and document handling through authorized service providers specialized in these functions.
• Reduced turnaround time for cheque clearing and cash credits.
• Reduction in time spent on non core activities like commuting time due to poor traffic conditions and waiting time due to branch queues thereby increasing the overall productivity.
• Convenience of handling trade related documents and correspond with the bank in an efficient and hassle-free manner.
• Avail comprehensive insurance for cash in transit, thereby mitigating the risk of physical movement of cash.
• Flexible pickup and delivery timings.
• Daily/fortnightly/weekly/monthly MIS on all collections and deliveries.

Key Features

This service will encompass end-to-end management of a company's receivables in form of Post Dated Cheques (PDC). The services offered include:

• Lodgment, registration and physical warehousing of PDCs.
• Presentation of cheques on due date for clearing.
• Management of returned cheques.
• Withdrawal and substitution services.
• MIS of cleared, outstanding and returned PDCs.

Benefits

The services offered shall provide the following:

• To effectively manage postdated receivables.
• Access customized MIS on cash flow forecasting resulting in improved planning due to availability of cash flow projections.
• Enhanced liquidity through PDC Discounting.

Unique Selling Proposition

In order to make the PDC solution unique and more customer friendly, FGB offers the following value added features to the customers:

• Availability of PDC image and all related information on the internet banking platform which will assist the corporate customers in accessing and analysing critical data though detailed MIS.
• Cash flow forecasting tools which enable corporates in efficient working capital management.
• Availability to request for PDC discounting though Internet Banking Platform.

For more information and to avail of First Collect, please contact your relationship manager or email us at transactionbanking@fgb.ae

Ministry of Labor in co-ordination with the Central Bank of the United Arab Emirates (CBUAE) has facilitated the process by introducing Wages Protection System (WPS) wherein they have appointed “Banks of Employers” for processing the payroll for companies and “Agents” for disbursing salaries and wages. Further, the CBUAE has restricted the agent's role to a Bank or Exchange House or any other Payroll Service Provider that is registered with CBUAE and uniquely identified by an Agent ID. FGB is fully compliant with the requirements of WPS both from “Bank of Employer” and “Agent” perspective and conforms to the entire offering.

Non - Wage Protection System (Non - WPS)

Companies which are not registered with Ministry of Labor are not required to adhere to WPS requirements and continue to disburse salaries and wages in the conventional practice through UAEFTS. Companies in the following sectors are not registered with MOL:

• Freezones
• Semi-Government entities
• Government entities
• Special decree cases

FGB provides comprehensive payroll solutions to employers under WPS as well as those which are not under WPS.

The payroll offering of FGB comprises of the following products:

• Salary accounts
• Cash at third-party agent counters or on-site at customer locations
• Electronic payroll cards

Salary Accounts

FGB's salary accounts can be opened for all employees with salaries in excess of AED 5,000. The process and documentation required for opening of salary accounts is as follows:

• Employees should visit the FGB branch with their original passport where they will be provided with account opening form and a signature card.
• Employees will have to provide a salary certificate along with a copy of the passport and resident visa for opening a current or a saving account.
• In case of non-availability of residential visas, only saving accounts can be opened.

Charges and Minimum Balance

• Current account - minimum balance AED 5,000
• Saving account - minimum balance is AED 5,000
• Non maintenance charge - AED 50 per month
• Overdraft charge - AED 100
• First cheque book and debit card free
• Additional Cheque Book at AED 20 each
• Re-issuance of Debit Card at AED 50 per issuance
• No Cheque Book for saving accounts
• Maintenance charge - AED 50/ six months, levied in January and June

Cash at Third-Party Agent Counters or On-site at Customer Locations

FGB's one-stop-shop payroll offering will cater to corporate customers requiring the provision of physical salary and wages delivered either at their site or over-the-counter at an agent's location. This will be undertaken through a tie-up with an external agent specializing in such services. To facilitate wage disbursement across agent counters and on-site disbursal, all employers will be provided a web-based Online Employee Management (OEM) application and all employees will be issued E-Cards for the purpose of identification and basic recognition. The Online Employee Management (OEM) web-based application will assist the company to:

• Monitor paid and unclaimed salaries of employees
• Register employee details for card issuance
• Manage payroll information of employees
• Generate salary files as required by CBUAE-WPS processing cycle
• Request for card deactivation
• Raise queries through online case management
• View MIS reports related to WPS payroll

Benefits

• Ease of service as the e-money card can be used by employee at agent's branches as well as sites
• Ease of withdrawal and remittance feature through the use of e-money card
• Security featured card designed as per ISO Standards with a magstripe along with pin for authentication on POS Terminals

Electronic Payroll Cards

The payroll card is a re-loadable debit card in the absence of a bank account and is based on an electronic funds disbursement system that is intended to replace cheques and cash as a disbursement of payroll. This solution provides faster and more efficient funds distribution through a PIN protected card which has the user's name and labor card number. The user can access the funds anywhere using any ATM connected to the UAE's ATM network.

Benefits (to Employer)

• Easy and fast method of salary payment
• Saving of time and money by focusing on paperless transactions
• Reduction of risk from frauds related to handling of cash
• Generation of current and historic reports of paid / unpaid salaries
• Easy and accurate payroll reports
• Availability of online information
• Increase of productivity by timely disbursement of payroll
• Issuance of pay slips along with payroll through Cash Dispensing Machine (CDM)

Benefits (to Employee)

• Salary available 24/7 through CDMs
• CDM provides payslips with complete salary details (this is an optional offering)
• 24/7 dedicated call center to attend employee queries
• Workers can view transaction details online
• Employees of customers enrolled with FGB will have a special discounted fee of AED 5/- on their remittances which will be applicable to specific countries like India, Nepal, Bangladesh, Sri Lanka and Philippines.

For more information and to avail of FirstPay, please contact your relationship manager or email us at transactionbanking@fgb.ae

SMARTCORP provides our corporate customers with a gateway to First Gulf Bank's Corporate E-Banking services. Our goal is to offer a secure, convenient and efficient banking experience to our corporate customers. SMARTCORP is our primary delivery platform catering to information management and integrated cash management for our esteemed corporate customers. It allows company personnel to perform a multitude of transactions on an online real-time basis from their office approved locations anywhere in the world. The said services are offered through state-of-the-art secured platform, which follows best in the industry norms like 128-bit SSL encryption and two factor authentications through Vasco tokens. SMARTCORP empowers our corporate customers to enhance efficiencies by providing linkages to businesses, information and locations worldwide.

The features offered through SMARTCORP are detailed below:

• Account Information - This module provides detailed information access of the corporate customers' relationship with First Gulf Bank. Through SMARTCORP, corporate customers will also have the facility to view, download and print account statements in various formats like PDF, CSV and MT 940. Information available under this module includes:
  • Total Relationship
  • Account Summary
  • Account Balance Inquiry
  • Account Statement
  • Statement Request
• Rates and Enquiries - In addition to the holistic information provided under Account Information, the corporate customers can also perform various queries related to transactions, facilities, interest rates and forex rates. Various enquiries available under the module are as follows:
  • Exchange Rates
  • Fixed Deposit Rates
  • Transaction Enquiry
  • Limits Enquiry
  • Loan Contract Details
  • Standing Instructions Enquiry
• Payables and Receivables Management - SMARTCORP provides a cost efficient and secure payment mechanism for performing intra and inter-bank transfer of funds to single or multiple beneficiaries across the world. Through SMARTCORP, our corporate customers can initiate transactions from their office locations without the need to physically send signed instruction letters and advices to First Gulf Bank. SMARTCORP has the capability to save & store beneficiary details created by corporate clients for efficient processing of their regular payments. In addition to this, SMARTCORP allows corporate customers to request for new cheque books and also enquire about the status of the cheques submitted to the bank for clearing. Various functionalities available under this module are as follows:
  • Own Account Transfers within FGB (AED and FCY)
  • Outward AED Remittance
  • Outward Foreign Currency Remittance
  • Beneficiary Maintenance
  • Cheque Book Request
  • Cheque Status Enquiry
• Salary and Wages Management - SMARTCORP offers the facility to upload salary files in the specified format. This facility is available for both WPS as well non-WPS payroll. Upon processing, detailed and comprehensive management information for these transactions is provided to aide reconciliation.
• Other Value Added Features - In addition to the functionalities mentioned above, SMARTCORP also offers corporate customers with value added features which can be used to improve overall efficiency of day-to-day transactions. Some of these features are listed below:
  • Mailbox
  • Bulletins

For more information and to avail SMARTCORP, please contact your relationship manager or email us at transactionbanking@fgb.ae