DUBAI The concept of mobile wallets is fast catching up in the UAE, as the alternative form of payment is perceived to be fun and rewarding.
If the use of Beam Wallet is anything to go by, over 350,000 people are currently shopping with this mobile wallet app alone at over 3,000 stores, including Carrefour and all Enoc service stations.
Nadim Khoury, co-founder of Beam Wallet, said what makes such products attractive is that they turn “the historically mundane step of payment” a rewarding experience.
Real-time factors
“The inherent issue with all other forms of payments, especially non-mobile, is that they were originally designed to only ever fulfil a single function - payment. This is still the case today and it fails to capture consumer behaviour and the opportunity to engage consumers with positive experiences when it matters the most. Cash or card is not aware of real-time factors such as location, time, weather etc.”
He said: “Beam developed intelligent algorithms that adapt to each new factor to better understand consumer behaviour, always taking into account relevancy of brands and preferences of each consumer at an individual level.”
Nitin Bhatia, designer and CEO of RINCO Tailors in Meena Bazaar, which introduced the Beam Wallet last month, said, “My customers are excited and many have already started using Beam because of the instant rewards it offers. They get Dh40 off on the first transaction and a cashback of 10 per cent every time they spend Dh500.”
He said the Bluetooth low energy beacons that Beam comes with is also an advantage. “This helps bring in new customers from far-off places too as my store’s pop up screen is beamed to the phone of any Beamer passing by in its vicinity.”
Khoury said, “Beamers pay for grocery shopping at Carrefour and other supermarkets by simply tapping their smartphone on Beam terminals. They also pay their bills and seamlessly tip waiters at restaurants. They pay for fuel at Enoc stations from the comfort of their cars.”
He said the Beam network also includes the likes of VOX Cinemas, Ski Dubai, Costa Coffee, Tim Hortons, ALDO, Tommy Hilfiger, Shakespeare and Co and Chilis. “Our collaboration with MasterPass by MasterCard also enables Beamers to shop online at over 250,000 global locations.”
