Careem Offers Digital Wallet with P2P and Contactless Payments

UAE ride haling app Careem, acquired in 2019 by Uber, is pushing further into the fintech space and providing additional service through its interface with the addition of a mobile wallet. The new services will allow for peer-to-peer payments and bank-backed contactless payments. The national News’s Deepthi Nair provides details:

Uber-owned Careem partnered with First Abu Dhabi Bank (FAB), the UAE’s largest lender by assets, and payments solution provider Magnati to roll out Careem Pay and the P2P transfer facility, which are authorised by the Central Bank of the UAE, the company said on Thursday.

Careem is looking to use its strong regional market presence to capitalize on increases in digital wallet and contactless spending that have risen throughout the COVID-19 pandemic. Users will eventually be able to make payments through the wallet both in-app and with participating out-of-app vendors. The service will launch in UAE before expanding to other countries served by Careem.

Overview by Jordan Hirschfield, Director of Research at Mercator Advisory Group