Visa and intella, a deep-tech company specialising in Arabic-first speech intelligence, have announced a strategic partnership to bring advanced conversational AI solutions to financial institutions across the MENA.
The collaboration aims to address unique linguistic and operational challenges in the region, creating tailored AI tools that reflect the diversity of Arabic dialects, claims Zawya.
The partnership is designed to close a critical “intelligence gap” that generic AI tools often fail to address. Conventional AI systems struggle with the complexities of Arabic dialects and financial institutions typically rely on manual reviews of a small portion of customer calls. Together, Visa and intella are working to provide banks with the ability to accurately analyse every customer interaction, transforming unstructured call data into actionable insights.
Visa is widely recognised as one of the world’s largest payments technology companies, connecting consumers, merchants, financial institutions and governments in more than 200 countries. intella, by contrast, has built its technology specifically for the Arab world, developing solutions capable of supporting more than 25 Arabic dialects. Its offerings include tools for customer experience management and advanced AI agents that enhance communication in regional banking ecosystems.
Through the agreement, Visa’s partners across the MENA region will gain access to intella’s ecosystem of products, beginning with intellaCX, which converts call data into assets for compliance, agent performance and product development. The collaboration will also prepare the ground for introducing Ziila, intella’s advanced AI agent, designed to support seamless customer interactions.
Additional support will come from Visa Consulting & Analytics, which will contribute expertise in shaping and co-developing solutions tailored to financial institutions in the region. Visa Implementation Services will also oversee the rollout of these technologies, ensuring they are integrated effectively across banking networks.
intella co-founder and CEO Nour Taher said, “This is a pivotal moment. Visa’s partnership with intella validates our foundational belief: that true understanding of the Arab world cannot be an afterthought, it must be the core of the technology. We are not just providing a tool; we are unlocking the real voice of the customer for the entire regional banking ecosystem. This collaboration will empower financial leaders to make strategic decisions with unprecedented clarity, driving growth and innovation based on every customer conversation.”
Visa VP for Consulting & Analytics Basma Berti said, “We are thrilled to embark on this collaborative journey with intella, leveraging the expertise of Visa Consulting & Analytics to co-develop and enrich conversational AI solutions tailored specifically to address the aspirations of our partners across the MENA region. Visa Implementation Services will lead the delivery and implementation of these solutions across the region to enable this partnership to go far beyond a simple technology integration—it is a shared commitment to expanding the capabilities of Arabic conversational AI, covering 25 dialects across the Middle East and North Africa. Together, we are shaping a powerful unified solution that will empower financial institutions to deliver truly localized and innovative customer experiences at scale, supporting growth and transformation throughout the region.”
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