Emirates NBD becomes first MENA bank to run OpenAI models in UAE

20/10/2026 02:59 AST

Emirates NBD will become the first bank in the MENA region to run OpenAI's GPT models on in-country infrastructure in the UAE. The bank and OpenAI announced the enterprise collaboration on October 19.

Banks work under strict security, governance and compliance rules in the UAE. Now with in-country inference they can adopt frontier AI at scale while meeting local expectations on data residency, privacy and operational resilience.

Emirates NBD will deploy the models in four areas. These are customer engagement across digital channels, risk and compliance analytics, automation of knowledge-intensive workflows, and employee productivity.

The bank will also connect the models to its internal systems, APIs and enterprise data. It expects faster development of digital services, deeper customer personalisation and stronger engineering and operational productivity. Risk monitoring and financial crime controls are also in scope.

Miguel Rio-Tinto, Group Chief Digital and Information Officer at Emirates NBD, says the bank is building AI into its operating model rather than testing it on the side. "AI is not an experiment for us, it is a core capability that will define how we build, serve and scale," he says.

He adds that the approach lets the bank "innovate at speed while maintaining the highest standards of governance, security and regulatory alignment."

The deployment supports the UAE's push to build world-class AI infrastructure and speed up responsible adoption in strategic sectors. It aligns with the UAE's National Strategy for Artificial Intelligence 2031. It also reflects the growing availability of sovereign AI capabilities, which let organisations use advanced AI while meeting local governance and regulatory requirements.

Farouk El Hamzawi, Head of Enterprise at OpenAI MENA, called the move a template for the sector. "Emirates NBD is setting a benchmark for how financial institutions can deploy AI securely and responsibly at scale," he notes.

OpenAI will supply its models, tools and UAE-based inference to help the bank meet regulatory requirements. El Hamzawi confirms both sides plan to deepen the partnership to lift productivity, drive innovation and improve customer experiences.

Gulfnews