Samsung Launches its Mobile Wallet Services in UAE

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Samsung Gulf Electronics FZE which operates as a subsidiary of global electronics company, Samsung Electronics, has introduced Samsung Pay in UAE. With this launch, UAE becomes the first country in Middle East to gain access to Samsung Pay mobile payment services. This comes as a part of the company’s global business expansion strategy.

Currently, the mobile wallet is active in 17 countries and works on parent company’s patented Magnetic Secure Transmission (MST) technology along with Near Field Communication. The company plans to partner with prominent banks of the country including ADCB, HSBC, Emirates NBD, Mashreq, National Bank of Abu Dhabi, RAK Bank and Standard Chartered in order to reach out to a larger customer base. Various bank customers will receive additional benefits for registering and making payments through the mobile wallet. For instance, ADCB customers will earn 10 times the regular reward points, if they make purchases and payments through ADCB credit card on Samsung Pay.

In UAE, cash transactions are predominant. However, it was estimated that value of cash transactions declined by 1.6% and card payments are likely to increase by 14% in coming years. Government of UAE has shown positive interests in promoting cashless economy last year by signing a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with 16 popular banks of the country to develop the mWallet solution.

Mobile payments segment is under development phase in UAE. It currently amounts to USD 1 billion and is expected to grow by another USD 10 billion by 2020. Contactless payment options are likely to become predominant in coming years as smartphone penetration rate is highly contributing to the cause.

To know more and gain deeper understanding of mobile payment industry in UAE, click here.