Emirates NBD has launched the Emirates NBD Fitness Account that turns “health into wealth”. The Fitness Account is a mobile-based savings account that allows customers to earn higher interest on their balances by linking it to their level of physical activity.
Customers will earn interest of up to two percent per annum (pa) on their savings, based on the number of steps that they walk or run daily. Starting with a base rate of 0.25 percent, interest rates start stepping up with the number of steps that customers take daily, climbing to 0.50 percent pa as soon as they clock 5,000 steps, one percent pa when they walk 8,000 steps and to two percent pa when they cross 12,000 steps.
Customers’ steps will be measured by an Apple Watch or other compatible fitness devices throughout the day – while the customer is having a morning jog, a walk from the metro station to the office, a game of squash or enjoying a dance in the evening. The count of steps will be tracked by the bank’s Fitness App, which will translate them to interest on the account balances at the end of each day.
Commenting on the launch, Suvo Sarkar, senior executive vice-president and group head of retail banking and wealth management, Emirates NBD, says in a press statement: “The Emirates NBD Fitness Account heralds a new phase in digital banking as it effectively combines customers’ health and lifestyle goals with their banking needs. In conjunction with leading brands in the fitness space, we are offering customers a holistic value proposition where health, wealth and technology merge to provide a truly distinctive customer experience.”
Fitness Account customers will get a free insurance cover of AED100,000 provided by global insurer MetLife, subject to clocking in a minimum level of activity daily. In addition, customers will receive free vouchers and rewards for roughly AED1,000 from fitness and sports brands such as Fitness First, Adidas and Beyond Fitness.
The bank’s push towards a healthy lifestyle among customers is closely aligned with the UAE government’s campaigns to fight obesity, especially among the youth. The obesity rate in the UAE is double the world’s average according to a study report, with the World Health Organisation (WHO) estimating that more than 2.1 billion people – close to 30 per cent of the global population – are overweight or obese.
