Etisalat announced today the launch of its new Etisalat Wallet service in the UAE. Etisalat Wallet is a convenient, rewarding and highly secured service from Etisalat that allows customers to make purchases, pay utility bills, transportation fees, top-up Etisalat’s mobile credit and much more, using one simple mobile application. The application is available for download from Google Android and Apple iOS Application stores.
Etisalat Wallet is accessible around the clock directly from customers’ mobile phones while in the UAE or traveling abroad and serves as the new digital wallet, thereby eliminating the need and risk of carrying cash.
Etisalat Wallet’s key benefits:
Enjoy meaningful rewards for each transaction
Pay utility bills
Purchase parking ticket in Dubai, Abu Dhabi and Sharjah
Top up Etisalat credit, including family members
Purchase goods and services at participating local merchants and major international store chains
Be in control of transactions with automatic reports, notifications and account management features
Benefit from the highest level of end-to-end security implemented as a part of the service
Etisalat’s mobile commerce service presently enables 17 million customers across Etisalat’s global operations with increased security and flexibility, reducing the need to carry cash and enabling payments at merchant locations, settling utility bills and facilitating funds transfer between friends and family members, directly from their mobile phones.
Khaled El Khouly, Chief Consumer Officer, Etisalat (UAE), said, "Research has shown that m-banking and m-payments can help lower the transaction costs of money transfer, increase the flow of money by making it easier to send across smaller amounts, and introduce secure financial transactions and management without bank accounts. By enabling people to use their mobile phones as mobile wallets, we hope to deliver lasting benefits not just for our progressive customers, but also for the economy of the UAE. We believe the benefits to our customers will be immense and that our new service has the potential to transform the way money is handled and managed. The mobile phone has already positively impacted our lives in many ways – and it's exciting to think that it now has the potential to replace notes and coins and give all of our customers access to world-class banking services."
With 170 percent of mobile phones penetration in the UAE the mobile phone is rapidly becoming the method of choice for making payments and managing money. Etisalat is optimizing its services in close cooperation with leading UAE Banks and in accordance with the Central Bank of UAE regulations, thus creating a world of opportunities for businesses, SME and progressive consumers.
Etisalat plays an important role in the mobile commerce ecosystem in the UAE and introduction of Etisalat Wallet service further expands the company’s product offerings in this area. In addition to Etisalat Wallet, Etisalat’s mobile commerce solutions in the UAE include:
Internationally acclaimed ‘Smart Mall’ which combines the best of mobile, online, and brick-and-mortar channels, distributed seamlessly for customers on the go, and delivered through interactive video walls and digital kiosks. The Smart Mall service recently introduced in close partnership with RTA, is built based on interactive digital menus containing 3D images of carefully selected products allowing customers to utilize one shopping cart and one check-out for the customer’s entire shopping experience;
Award-winning Etisalat Mobile Cashier service which transforms mobile phones into industrial-grade payment acceptance tools, enabling enterprises and small and medium businesses (SMBs) to accept debit/credit/prepaid cards, cash, cheques and mobile phone-based payments in a secure, convenient, and easy-to-use environment;
Carrier billing or direct payment acceptance via mobile phones for purchases made from leading application stores including Google Play, Ovi, Microsoft, Blackberry and soon on Apple iTunes; and
Etisalat Payment machines placed in strategic locations across the UAE, enabling customers to settle utility bills on the go.
In recent years, Etisalat’s mobile commerce services and solutions have been recognized. It has won the ‘Best Near Field Communication/Mobile Money Product’, ‘Mobile Money Product of the Year’, ‘Best use of mobile in Retail’, and ‘Best Digital Commerce product offering’ awards at the GSMA’s prestigious Global Mobile Awards during the Mobile World Congress in Barcelona, Spain. Moreover, the Financial Times and the World Bank also nominated the service in 2016 and 2013 for the Global Sustainable Finance award in the category ‘Technology in Sustainable Finance’.
Source: Etisalat