Best Payment Innovation 2025: FAB
FAB transforms B2B expense management with mobile virtual cards - earning our Best Payment Innovation Award.
Corporate expense management across the Gulf has long relied on manual processes, physical cards, and approval chains that slow everything down. First Abu Dhabi Bank set out to change that in December 2025 with the launch of mobile-first virtual corporate cards built in partnership with Mastercard.
The product allows businesses to issue virtual Mastercard cards instantly through a mobile interface, with real-time controls over spending limits, merchant categories, and validity periods. Finance teams can provision cards for specific transactions or ongoing use, eliminating the delays and risks associated with shared physical cards or lengthy procurement-driven approval processes.
FAB designed the solution specifically for the B2B expense management use case - a segment where innovation has traditionally lagged behind consumer payments. The cards integrate with existing corporate banking infrastructure, feeding transaction data directly into reconciliation and reporting systems. This means finance teams gain immediate visibility into spend without waiting for month-end statements or manual expense reports.
The Mastercard partnership was central to the product's design. By leveraging Mastercard's global acceptance network and tokenisation infrastructure, FAB ensured the virtual cards work seamlessly across online and point-of-sale environments worldwide. The bank also implemented enhanced security features, including dynamic CVV technology and instant freeze capabilities, giving businesses confidence in the security of each transaction.
We chose FAB for this award because the product addresses a real friction point in corporate banking with a solution that is genuinely practical. Many payment innovations in the region have focused on consumer wallets or peer-to-peer transfers. FAB recognised that businesses - particularly SMEs managing multiple expense categories and employee spend - needed a modern, mobile-native tool that could keep pace with how companies actually operate today.
The early adoption metrics were encouraging. Within weeks of launch, hundreds of corporate clients had activated virtual cards, suggesting that the demand was already there - it simply needed a product built to meet it.
Visit FAB to learn more.
Assigned by Sebastien Parker, Senior Research Analyst, Global Banking Monitor, December 2025
