Careem Pay partners with Lulu Exchange

Careem has partnered with Lulu Exchange, one of the UAE’s largest licensed remittance providers, to launch international remittances on Careem Pay, enabling the customers and captains to send money abroad, a statement said.

In the first phase, the customers can seamlessly transfer money from the UAE to Pakistan in minutes at competitive rates through the “Send Abroad” tile on the Careem app, it added.

The funds are sent directly to a recipients’ foreign bank accounts whether they are Careem or non-Careem customers. The process is fully digital with electronic Know Your Customer (KYC) completed in seconds, making it possible to send money overseas in just a few taps. Transfers exceeding AED 400 are free of charge.

The UAE is the second largest source of remittance globally, with nearly $50 billion sent abroad in 2021. Over 1.7 million Pakistani expats live and work in the UAE and the country has become one of the largest sources of remittance to Pakistan, with $452.5 million transferred to Pakistan in November 2022 alone.

Careem plans to expand the service to include transfer to the Philippines, Egypt and India in the coming months.

Mudassir Sheikha, chief executive officer (CEO) and co-founder of Careem, said: “We are delighted to partner with one of UAE’s largest licensed remittance providers to introduce the simplest remittance service from the UAE to Pakistan to the Careem app. Over a million-and-a-half Pakistanis live in the UAE, including thousands of hard working Careem captains. We are excited to really simplify and improve their experience when sending money home to support their families.”

Adeeb Ahamed, managing director of LuLu Financial Group, said: “As consumer-facing organisations, both Careem and LuLu Exchange share a common philosophy to make people’s lives easier by using technology. Being a trusted name in cross-border payments, we are happy to integrate our fully compliant remittance-as-a-service platform with Careem Pay and contribute towards the rapid adoption of digital payments among the people of the UAE.”

Faysal Bank partners with Mercantile Pakistan

Faysal Bank Limited partnered with Mercantile Pakistan, an authorised Apple distributor, to provide a facility of Buy Now Pay Later (BNPL) at a zero per cent profit rate to its customers using its payment cards, a statement said.

This is the first time in Pakistan that the customers can avail BNPL facility to buy official Apple products from authorised retail outlets, it added.

During the rollout phase, over 100 mercantile registered resellers will start offering Apple official products on three, six, nine and 12 months’ easy installment plans.

The Mercantile products will also be available on Faysal Bank DigiMall, Faysal Bank’s online marketplace and via PIP options through call centres.

This partnership will enable easy payments for the Faysal Bank customers via Mercantile Pakistan’s authorised channels, while simultaneously leveraging on the Faysal Bank platform’s capacity to empower its authorised businesses through faster payment cycles, according to the statement.

In the last few years, BNPL has become an incredibly popular option among the consumers, enabling them to obtain goods through flexible and interest-free payments offered in the form of a secure and seamless payment experience provided by the merchants utilising BNPL.

This move will also enable the growth of the e-commerce ecosystem at a domestic level, enabling trust in pre-payments systems and quality and goods and services.

Speaking on the occasion, Aneeq Malik, head of consumer finance and payment services, Faysal Bank, said: “This partnership is a testament to our vision of empowering the customers with flexible financing options. This card-led product will also enable to rekindle growth among the countless businesses of different sizes, during this period of continued economic uncertainty.”