Mastercard, in their recent report “The Cashless Journey,” stated that UAE economy is among the most rapidly growing as a cashless based society. VISA another leader in digital payments surveyed retailers found that 63% of the retailers claimed foot traffic increasing and 68% increase in revenue with the acceptance of digital payments. The survey also highlighted the fact that 70% of the retailers are interested in investing in new payment technology in near future.
Do the above facts ring a bell on how “digital payments” are evolving in UAE? While digital payments could be in the form of Credit/Debit Card, Contactless payments, voice-assisted payments, our today’s post is all about offering your customer ease of convenience and anytime cash with Mobile Money or better known as Digital Wallets/Mobile wallets. Let’s get started –
Who are the customers of Mobile Money Wallet in UAE?
The global economy shows how consumers are converting their payment mode from cash to digital wallets. However, there is still a segment of people who find it difficult to move to digital wallets, owing to many reasons like security, usage difficulty, or interoperability issues.
Hence for you to succeed and offer a Mobile money payment proposition, you need to understand your customer’s need and how they perceive payments, shopping or handle money. Here are some facts about UAE consumers –
- 30% of the UAE population belongs to Millennials category.
- Smartphone penetration level in UAE is 79%
- 70% of the respondents are keen to try new payment solutions such as mobile wallet in UAE.
- UAE consumers are big spenders, and 34% would buy brands at any price.
- An essential share of income is spent on housing (41%), followed by food and beverage (13.9%) and transport (9.3%)
- Alternative payments are all gaining prominence in the region as a report in 2017.
Can Digital Wallet Serve UAE Customers? | Mobile Wallet Features for UAE customers
A digital wallet is also known as Mobile wallet or e-wallet is a software application running on mobile phone with following functionality –
- Secure enrolment of the user like an app download or identity-check
- Secure provisioning of credentials
- Ability to store customer identity and payment information
- Facility to preselect a payment method to execute transactions.
- Capability to load amount via net banking, debit/credit card, bank account, prepaid cards, virtual money, or any other wallet.
We just learned the customer behavior in UAE, we kind of know their inclination to spend and try new payment option. So how about offering a payment mode via their smartphones. It’s a simple download that removes the burden of carrying another card or remember passwords. Swipe your phone and you are done.
So apart from the basic features as listed above, what you could do to attract customers in using your mobile wallet? Here are some of the cool features for your digital wallet to stand out from the crowd –
Social Media Integration
As per stats available, 99.06% of the UAE population remain active on social media, that’s like close to 100%. If the user is already using a social media platform like Facebook, Whatsapp, Hike or Twitter, ability to enable payment from the same would not only help him but also remove an extra layer of registering on another platform. So for a bank keen to launch their mobile wallets in UAE can offer a link to register via using social media platform and there you are, a happy onboarding of customer.
QR Code Access
Another simple form of e-wallets, where users need to scan the QR code/bar code available with the merchant and debit happens for shopping or bill payments. User does not need to remember any passwords or code; a simple scan can make their life easier.
Example – Wechat wallet, Starbucks Mobile Payment
Text-Based Wallets
For customers who are not inclined to download an app or use their phone memory for the app, the SMS based payments work like a charm. Text-based payments help in P2P funds transfer, consumer to business purchases and maintain a mobile current account.
Example – M-Pesa, Tigo
All Digital
This is the best feature to serve the tech-savvy customers as it exists only on digital space. The digital-only wallet can be used in online payments, in-app purchases, and also with merchants offering the wallet for payments
Example – paytm, Amazon Pay
Merchant based Wallets
Starbucks were the early adopters of mobile wallets to offer their customers rewards[who uses their wallet] and also convenience from carrying cash. They were able to pull out themselves as a brand in delivering quality coffee and also to reward loyal customers. However, quite recently they have started accepting payments from other wallets as well offering interoperability, putting customers ease of use as first priority.
A recent report on the retail banking sector in theMiddle East by the European Financial Management Association (EFMA) observes that UAE possess all the advantages, drivers to be a digital place. While the country’s population is young at heart, tech-savvy the regulatory framework for pushing electronic payments and cashless transactions are some of the critical elements in driving innovation. The launch of Mobile wallets is thus a continuation of the ongoing process of banking innovation and can make a cashless society.
Mobile wallets can provide a substantial boost to the UAE’s effort of an inclusive digital payments ecosystem, benefitting stakeholders, i.e. consumers, banks, businesses and set the path of the country’s transitions to cashless future.
If you are a bank, Financial institution, or a merchant willing to launch a mobile wallet, Teknospire can assist to your requirement. We are proud to be associated with some of the leading banks and FI across globe in launching their digital wallets. If you are looking for any other banking solution like – digital banking or Reconciliation or Business intelligence, we would be happy to help you with that as well. We are just a call away.