The agreement was signed by H.H Sheikh Ahmed bin Saeed Al-Maktoum, Emirates' chairman and chief executive on behalf of Transguard and H.E Ahmad Al Tayer, chairman, Emirates NBD.

H.H Sheikh Ahmed said: "Emirates NBD is one of the largest banks in the Middle East and we are very pleased to be associated with them and to soon be providing Transguard services to the bank in Dubai and the rest of the UAE. Both Transguard and Emirates NBD have trusted reputations in the region, and we look forward to working with them to generate maximum benefit for their business, and set new industry benchmarks for cash management services."

H.E Ahmed Bin Humaid Al Tayer, chairman of Emirates NBD commented: "We are very proud of the progress of the relationship between our two organisations. Transguard and Emirates NBD are two very significant pillars in the development of the UAE and our combined efforts contribute to the expansion plan and further development of the economy and people of the UAE."

The agreement will cover a number of operations including Cash-In-Transit, (CIT), where Transguard will provide all cash-in-transit requirements for the bank including inter-branch and Central Bank CIT and the bank's corporate and government clients' CIT requirements. Transguard has over 150 CIT special purpose vehicles monitored by GPS tracking systems, and its operations are and backed by insurance from Lloyds of London.

Transguard will also provide Cash Processing for Emirates NBD using its fully automated Cash Management Centre, (CMC), the only one of its kind in the region. With a capacity to process up to two million banknotes a day, the CMC houses the biggest and the fastest cash counting and sorting machine in the world. With this capability, Transguard will speed up the process of cash crediting in Emirates NBD Bank's accounts. Services at the CMC include sorting and counting physical banknotes, (as per the UAE Central Bank requirements), identifying counterfeits, and providing high quality ATM-FIT banknotes for the bank's ATM's which reduces the breakdown of cash machines, and thus ensure better service for the bank's customers.

Over 500 Automated Teller and Cash Deposit Machines will be managed by Transguard on behalf of Emirates NBD with Transguard currently handling replenishments, emergency callouts and first line maintenance of all its ATM's and CDM's.

Dr. Abdulla Al Hashimi, divisional senior vice president, Emirates Group Security, said: "This is a very positive and significant partnership for Transguard, and it illustrates the scope and quality of Cash Management services that we can provide to our customers. We look forward to working closely with our partners at Emirates NBD to continually raise the bar on service standards."

Mr. Jamal Bin Ghalaita, Emirates NBD general manager consumer finance and wealth management said: "We would like to commend the best practices employed by Transguard. We take great pride in being business partners with them to ensure seamless, secure and professional services for the greater good or our customers." Transguard Group, an Emirates Group company, is a multi-faceted business support services and solutions conglomerate, providing an extensive portfolio of specialist services to organizations across the UAE.