The UAE has all the elements to bring the latest and most advanced mobile payment solutions and has a clear roadmap as they plan for a cashless future, said Milan Gauder, Head of Global Products and Solutions for MEA, Mastercard, as he spoke at the 7th Dubai Smart Cities Forum. organised by the Mohammad Bin Rashid School of Government, a research and educational institution specialized in public policy in the Arab world.
“The high mobile penetration reaching 200 per cent, the fast adoption of new technologies and the strong connectivity here are all signs that indicate how fast the UAE will adopt the latest mobile payment solutions,” said Gauger as he revealed that the UAE holds seventh place in the MasterCard Mobile Payment Readiness Index.
The best technology is yet to be determined by key players, who must follow the trends and work together to follow the same standards, he said. Gaurad was referring to the government, telecom companies, banks, shops and all other players involved to make innovative mobile payment options possible.“There are various mobile payment solutions already adopted here such as the Beam wallet, Mpay system, and contactless cards in some shops. The government has also launched many smart services allowing people to pay their bills online.”
Contactless payment phones are yet to be adopted in many shops in the UAE, Gauger confirmed. “The infrastructure is still being built for that and the demand for it will be high as people here are ready for seamless mobile payment options.”Discussing how mobiles have opened a new gate to the digital world and changed our behaviours in many different ways, Gaurad says mobile payments in the future will require less physicality.
“With 50 billion devices expected to be connected in 2020, machines will communicate with other machines. We are expected to see just behaviours determining payments without standing in queues and having card or phone readers. By having your phone, the payment is approved in the background.”
Dubai Government is keen and ready to transform the city into a smart one, and developing a smart economy is one of the dimensions of the smart city initiative, said Sami Al Qemzi, Dubai Economic Development director-general. He also said that the roadmap to make UAE cashless will take some time, but there are clear steps on how to make it possible.