Careem announces partnership with Bank Albilad

By Leandra Monteiro

Careem, a multi-service platform, joins forces with Bank Albilad to deliver daily earnings to Captains in Saudi Arabia with an over 80% reduction in transaction fees.

Bank AlBilad’s fully automated payment solution was piloted with Captains from different regions of Saudi Arabia, enabling them to opt to receive same-day payouts. The service is available seven days a week, even on public holidays, and Careem plans to eventually enable digital payouts in real-time.

More than 75,000 Saudi nationals use the Careem app to earn flexibly. It processes an average of 22,700 payment transactions a week for Captains in Saudi Arabia through bank transfers.

Ghaith Al-Johani, General Manager for Careem Saudi Arabia said, “We are excited to partner with Bank AlBilad to streamline earnings payouts for Careem Captains. The automated solution we are introducing enables Captains to access their earnings daily with lower fees, thereby unlocking even greater flexibility. By simplifying their payment experience we are supporting SAMA’s strategy to expand the share of cashless transactions in Saudi Arabia while making the earnings opportunities through Careem even more efficient.”

The automated payment solution for Captains introduced by Careem and Bank AlBilad supports SAMA’s strategic objective to facilitate digital fund transfer across local banks through the instant payment system, Sarie, and to empower Saudi Arabia’s national infrastructure for digital payments in support of Vision 2030.

Careem launched in Saudi Arabia in 2013, commencing operations in Riyadh, Jeddah, Dammam, Dhahran and Khobar before expanding to reach 29 cities across the Kingdom. The company broadened the services it offers to customers in Saudi Arabia beyond ride-hailing, to also provide food delivery, city-to-city transportation, booking a Covid-19 vaccine and ride to the appointment, and PCR test, all in one application.