UAE residents gear up for cashless spend

dubai - The 'klip' app will help replace physical cash in the pockets of UAE residents

The name of the app that will help replace physical cash in the pockets of UAE residents has been revealed at last.

Emirates Digital Wallet, a platform established by 16 of the UAE's leading banks a few months ago, announced on Wednesday that the app, "klip," has been vigorously market tested across a wide cross-section of UAE society over a few months and has gained strong levels of acceptance and popularity among banked and unbanked respondents alike.

"klip paves the way for cashless spending, transfer and storage of money for everyone living and working in the UAE," said Maki Vekinis, general manager of the Emirates Digital Wallet.

According to a study by Visa, millennials in the UAE spend 6.5 hours of their day on Internet and the use of smartphones is a general trend among almost all of them. Millennials tend to use applications and web portals for ecommerce. In fact, 76 per cent of millennials in the UAE use the Internet for that purpose, and 55 per cent use it for online bill payments.

According a study, digital wallets are set to become the most popular payment method in the world in the next few years, overtaking credit and debit cards. A report by Worldpay, a payment processing company, forecasts that by 2019, $647 billion of consumer payments will be made globally through digital wallets.

klip brings together best practice from a wide variety of payment systems around the world, but is the only solution tuned in to the needs and characteristics of the UAE's local environment, which aims to replace cash in the day-to- day economy, said Vekinis.

He said the app combines the adaptability and utility of smartphones with the familiarity of using cash in everyday purchases and payments. "In particular, klip will enable those who do not have bank accounts to benefit from the greater security of digital cash over physical cash, but with even more benefits."

The chairman of the UAE Banks Federation, Abdulaziz Al Ghurair, said the launch of Emirates Digital Wallet is a continuation of the ongoing tradition of banking innovation, and has the potential to introduce a society-wide cash transformation to digital.

"Emirates Digital Wallet will provide a strong boost to the UAE's effort to build an inclusive digital payments ecosystem that will benefit all stakeholders including consumers, businesses and banks, and set the path for the country's transition to a cashless future."
klip will be demonstrated at the upcoming Gitex conference and exhibition at the Emirates Digital Wallet stand.

- issacjohn@khaleejtimes.com