Stay fit to earn more: Dubai bank links savings account to customer's fitness

Dubai-based Emirates NBD bank has launched a new saving account linked to the fitness of the customers.

With a minimum requirement of Dh3,000, the Fitness Account is a mobile-based savings account that allows customers to earn higher interest on their balances linked to their level of physical activity.

Customers will earn interest of up to two per cent per annum on their savings based on the number of steps that they walk or run daily.

Starting with a base rate of 0.25 per cent, interest rates start stepping up with the number of steps that customers take daily, climbing to 0.50 per cent per annum as soon as they clock 5,000 steps, one per cent when they walk 8,000 steps and to two per cent per annum when they cross 12,000 steps.

The steps will be measured by an Apple Watch or other compatible fitness devices through 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 steps count 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, making an active and healthy lifestyle also a more financially rewarding one.

“While customers in the region have yet to fully embrace mobile phones in their banking habits, we are confident they will increasingly opt for the hassle-free convenience of banking on-the-go from a single device, especially when combined with the lifestyle and earning incentives of the Emirates NBD Fitness Account,” said Suvo Sarkar, Senior Executive Vice President & Group Head – Retail Banking and Wealth Management, Emirates NBD.

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 over 2.1 billion people – close to 30 per cent of the global population – are overweight or obese.

(Emirates247)