GEMS Education, NBAD and MasterCard to launch Loyalty Card for parents

Press release

Published October 13th, 2011 - 11:19 GMT

Al Bawaba

The National Bank of Abu Dhabi (NBAD), MasterCard Worldwide and GEMS Education today signed an agreement to introduce a loyalty card exclusively for GEMS parents.

The payment card comes with a host of discount offers and benefits for parents, which can also be extended to children above certain age under the discretion of parents.

“GEMS Education is pleased to partner with the National Bank of Abu Dhabi (NBAD) and MasterCard to offer our parents more financial flexibility and easy payment options through the introduction of a loyalty card,” said Richard Forbes, Director, Marketing and Communications, GEMS Education. “This collaboration builds on our commitment to pass on to our parents and students the benefits of GEMS Education’s long and fruitful association with reputable financial institutions like NBAD and MasterCard,” he added.

Suvo Sarkar, the General Manager of Consumer & Elite Banking at NBAD, said, “We are pleased to offer the parent community new and easy ways to manage and plan their finances. We are excited to join forces with GEMS Education and MasterCard to work on launching a platform surrounding financial products and services.”

On his part, Eyad Al-Kourdi, Vice President and Country Manager, UAE, MasterCard Worldwide said, “We are delighted to collaborate with GEMS Education and the National Bank of Abu Dhabi to launch a program, which reinforces our long standing commitment to support the financial needs of consumers in the UAE.

“We look forward to introducing programs that will complement the lifestyle needs of parents, while creating further awareness of financial products and services,” he added.

Earlier, a competition was introduced for students at GEMS schools to submit a drawing that could ultimately be used as the design for the loyalty card that will be produced using biodegradable plastic – a first for the UAE.

Choosing environment as their subject, students from across various GEMS Schools participated in the competition with enthusiasm.

The submissions were judged by a jury consisting of two members from GEMS Education and one each from MasterCard and NBAD. The selected design and the winner will be announced along with the launch of the card.

Background Information

GEMS Education

In 1959, two teachers, KS Varkey and his wife Mariamma, arrived in Dubai.

At the time, Dubai was a burgeoning trade centre on the Arabian Gulf. The Varkey family had left Kerala, India to seek a better life for their family. What they found was a real need to educate children arriving in the city from around the world.

Their son, Sunny, added a visionary’s ambition to a practitioner's experience. From simple roots in a family of teachers, GEMS Education, is today an international company with schools and education services across the Middle East. We still share the same mission - to provide a quality education to everyone.

Company Profile

MasterCard

Electronic payments have the ability to create a world with greater opportunities for all. To take us beyond borders, to new markets. Beyond mere moments, to meaningful experiences. That's the power of a World Beyond Cash®. And that's Priceless®.