Hala adds digital wallet to expedite payments to drivers

The facility will be rolled out by the e-hailing taxi service for 17,000 drivers this month, offering tips and bonus payments up to twice a week

The new service enables Hala drivers to receive payments twice a week. Pawan Singh / The National

Hala, Dubai’s e-hailing taxi service, has introduced the Careem Pay digital wallet for its fleet of drivers, known as captains, to support quicker and more frequent payments of their tips and bonuses.

The digital wallet, available on the Careem app, will be rolled out with a phased approach, allowing captains to receive payments up to twice a week directly to their Careem Pay wallets, the company said on Monday.

Before the introduction of Careem Pay, Hala captains had received tips and bonuses monthly.

With the new service, they can receive remuneration nearly every three days, enabling them to pay bills, recharge their mobile plans or transfer money to any bank account directly in the app.

The platform also enables international money transfers at preferential exchange rates and without any added fees, the company said.

Hala currently provides the payment solution to 14,000 captains and aims to increase this to 17,000 by the end of this month.

“We decided to launch this initiative for captains to be able to receive remuneration more frequently and with ease,” Khaled Nuseibeh, chief executive of Hala, said.

“We are working with our partners to further expand the countries of remit to ensure we are catering to everyone equally.”

Currently, captains can remit money to Pakistan, and the service caters to about 70 per cent of the workforce, with more countries lined up for this service soon, Careem said.

A joint venture between Careem and the Roads and Transport Authority, Hala uses Careem’s ride-hailing technology and the RTA’s local knowledge to provide rides across Dubai and Ras Al Khaimah.

Launched in 2019, Hala accounted for 11 per cent of total taxi trips in 2020. A year later, that number had increased to 18 per cent, rising to 30 per cent in 2022.

Last April, Careem rolled out a digital wallet for its Careem Pay service that stores real money for customers as part of its plan to become a digital financial services provider.

It also introduced a peer-to-peer transfer service that enables users to send, request and receive money by using a phone number, QR code or personal payment link.

The increased use of contactless mobile payments has been accelerated by hygiene concerns about using cash during the Covid-19 pandemic.

Consumer spending through digital wallets will reach more than $10 trillion in 2025 from $5.5 trillion in 2020, according to a 2021 report by UK-based Juniper Research.

A digital wallet stores users’ credit and/or debit card information and links it to a payment gateway to allow purchases at point of sale. Similar to credit cards, digital wallets only work with merchants that accept them as a payment method.

Google was the first major company to launch a mobile wallet in 2011. Today, consumers have a number of digital wallets to choose from, including Samsung Pay, PayPal and Apple Pay.

Careem Pay’s digital wallet can be used to pay for goods and services already offered on the Careem app – such as ride hailing, food and grocery delivery, bike sharing, intercity travel, cleaning and car rentals.

Money from the Careem Pay digital wallet can be withdrawn from any UAE bank account.

Careem Pay plans to introduce financial services in lending, savings and insurance, Madiha Sattar, vice president of Careem Pay, said last year.

Careem became the Middle East's first unicorn – a start-up with a valuation above $1 billion – when US-based Uber bought it in 2019 for $3.1 billion.