Some of you may have noticed that on the latest update of your app there is a new feature – peer-to-peer credit transfer.
Peer-to-peer credit transfer is coming to Careem and is currently in testing phase for some Careem app users across markets. Based on focus group studies we’ve conducted with our users, social payments came up high on the list and we are starting by offering a peer-to-peer credit transfer feature.
The idea is to provide our customers with the ability to easily and instantaneously transfer Careem credit through their wallets to friends and family. For example, it will allow a parent to send credit to their child to take a Careem ride back home, or for companies to transfer credit to their out-of-office sales force to simplify their claims and reimbursement process.
It can also come in handy when you’re out of cash and have no balance in your wallet but need to ride with us urgently. Or it could be as basic as saying “thank you” with a little token of appreciation. And as we add more features to our wallet, the potential uses will grow.
It’s easy to sometimes forget that bank accounts and cards that many of us take for granted are not available to everyone. In fact, according to the World Bank, only 14 percent of people in the Middle East have access to a bank account. That means there are hundreds of millions that have no means of storing cash in a secure manner or the ability to make digital payments.
Cash is still the main form of payment in the region including for Careem rides. But with smartphone penetration on the rise, the wallet is going to be an increasingly common way of paying in the coming years. Careem wants to stay ahead of this change and we’re working to bring new payment services to our customers which will ultimately help us simplify the lives of users.
Right now, we’re beta testing the peer-to-peer credit transfer feature, but soon it will be available to all our customers as it is progressively rolled out across the entire base in all cities.