Etisalat launches mobile wallet service in the UAE
Dubai: Telecom operator etisalat has declared the kick off of its mobile service – etisalat Wallet – in the UAE.
The app, offered on Google and Apple app stores, enables people to buy things, pay electric bills, travelling fees, top-up etisalat’s mobile credit and even more.
“The service is accessible in 17 of its global operations. The scope of services launched in each market varies according to consumer demands, market maturity along with regulating requirements,” Khaled Al Khouly, chief consumer officer at etisalat (UAE), told Gulf News.
Furthermore, he stated that etisalat is making use of a “less is more” approach by concentrating on presenting probably the most significant and, simultaneously, simple-to-use functions in the early on of the launch.
“As we move ahead, we’ll expose more complex services that align with our customers’ level of comfort and need,” he stated.
Nevertheless, he was quoted saying that assisting funds transfer between friends and family members, straight from their mobile phones, won’t be available right now.
“Etisalat is providing services in accordance with the UAE’s Central Bank regulations. The Central Bank has presently performed outstanding operations in the development of the UAE’s ‘digital payments’ regulatory framework. Etisalat’s mobile-to-mobile cash transfer service expansion will follow soon after this regulating framework is ramified and when we safe Central Bank approvals,” he said.
In several countries, etisalat currently offers cross-border money remittance service.
Although many Gulf countries like the UAE have several of the highest smartphone transmission rates in the world, research shows that whenever it comes to banking interactions, the figure continues to be low.
The Mobile Wallet may be the financial element of the Smart Government initiative. Smart Government has recognized over 90 services supplied by government departments needing digital payment. The Mobile Wallet continues to be made to allow these to be produced from a purpose-designed platform that connects with all of banks working in the UAE.
The UAE Banks Federation (UBF) in 2014 also officially released the execution of the Mobile Wallet project.
The work is anticipated to be applied in many phases. The UBF is matching the work with banks for example Abu Dhabi Commercial Bank, Adib, Commercial Bank of Dubai, Emirates NBD, Mashreq, National Bank of Abu Dhabi, Standard Chartered, First Gulf Bank and Dubai Islamic Bank.
Al Khouly declared that etisalat’s m-commerce is obtainable 24 / 7 directly from customers’ cell phones while in the UAE or venturing abroad and serves as the new digital wallet, thus getting rid of the necessity and risk of carrying cash.
He said that research has revealed that m-banking and m-payments can help lower the transaction costs of cash transfer, boost the flow of cash by making it simpler to send across smaller amounts and introduce secure financial transactions and management without bank accounts.