Emirates Digital Wallet, FAB, Mashreq Bank, NBF, and Mastercard announced the launch of klip

By Edil Corneille

Emirates Digital Wallet, along with First Abu Dhabi Bank (FAB), Mashreq Bank, National Bank of Fujairah, and Mastercard announced the launch of klip, Emirates Digital Wallet’s Digital Cash Platform.

klip is said to offer a simple way for users to transfer money via a mobile number. It allows users to seamlessly pay for goods in-store using the existing merchant reach offered by its partner banks. The platform further enables small businesses to start accepting digital payments via mobile phones, meaning more businesses can tap into the digital economy. klip is an interoperable solution designed to seamlessly provide digital payments between all consumers and merchants in the UAE.

Hana Al Rostamani, Deputy Group CEO and Head of Personal Banking at FAB said, “Consumers are demanding digital options across a multitude of industries and that includes banking, payments and purchases. The introduction of klip for customers and merchants across the country will drive the cashless objective of the UAE and will help in bolstering the UAE’s financial ecosystem…”

Subroto Som, Senior Executive Vice President – Group Head of Retail Banking Group, Mashreq Bank said, “…Our support for klip underlines our fundamental belief in the Government’s vision of establishing the UAE as a digital leader and we are excited to be able to bring this unique digital wallet to our customers.”

Vince Cook, CEO of National Bank of Fujairah added, “…The rollout of klip at this time will help further accelerate the use of digital solutions in place of cash and open a wealth of related services for the unbanked. In recent months we have seen increasing take up of all our digital channels and klip provides a further enhancement in our offerings with its efficient, cost-effective, and most importantly, secure and safe platform for cashless payments.”

The Digital Cash Platform aims at eradicating the use of physical cash and is said to help UAE transition into a truly cashless society by providing a digital equivalent for physical cash that is tuned with the lifestyle of its users, as mentioned in a Mastercard press release.

“…We are proud to come on board as a trusted partner and technology provider and join hands with leaders across the UAE to deliver Mastercard’s expertise and help drive inclusion to support the UAE’s vision of a connected, digital future,” said Khalid Elgibali, Division President – Middle East and North Africa, Mastercard.

“We are delighted to be launching the new digital cash platform, klip, with our three pioneer partners and applaud their commitment in working with us to transform the UAE’s digital economy. Eliminating physical cash will result in huge savings for businesses and allow smaller businesses to flourish,” said Mohammed Al Jayyash, Chairman of Emirates Digital Wallet LLC.

“In addition to our launch partners, more banks are in the testing phase and will soon be offering klip to their customers. In parallel, we are developing a klip-branded mobile app to be released in the fourth quarter of 2020 to allow anyone across the UAE, visitors and residents alike, to switch to digital cash, regardless of whether or not they have a bank account,” Al Jayyash added.