The first nationally sanctioned mobile wallet solution for the United Arab Emirates has been launched. Emcredit, a fully owned subsidiary of the Dubai Economy, will launch empay, a secure mobile wallet and payment platform that offers all United Arab Emirates residents the ability to easily pay for a wide variety of goods and services using smart wearable technology or multi functional devices.
National mobile wallet service launches in UAE
NXP will manufacture and provide the NFC controller and secure element (SE) necessary to allow UAE consumers to utilize the service on wearable devices and Cardtek will provide the payment infrastructure.
As a part of the Dubai Government Smart initiative, empay will bring together a number of service providers – including banks, government departments, retailers, educational institutions, and transportation companies – into a common platform where consumers are easily able to access and pay for services from a single mobile wallet.
empay will ultimately enable UAE consumers to make retail payments, initiate money transfers, and pay for government utilities – like telecommunication and school fees – all from a single mobile wallet using either an “active” wearable or another multifunctional mobile device.
“Active” wearables include a battery and a Bluetooth Low Energy (BLE) connection, in addition to a NFC interface. This allows communication to the cloud via a mobile phone or “companion device” – enabling multiple applications to be dynamically and Over The Air (OTA) provisioned on the wearable device.
This technology results in the richest possible user experience, where the consumer is able to virtualize all of their personal contactless cards on their wearable device.
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