The UAE fintech industry is at an exciting stage. While we’ve already seen massive developments in the sector, there still seems to be a lot in store. Key growth stems from the rise of revolutionary fintech mobile applications across the Middle East.
With 97 per cent of the Middle Eastern population using smartphones, these applications hold immense potential to redefine how the industry operates. We’ve seen this in play with the rapid adoption of digital payments and automated banking services across the UAE. Several fintech mobile apps emerge every few months, facilitating high-end digital banking services for its users. Let’s have a look at the top 4 of these applications currently in use across the Middle East.
Coupled with high-speed internet and an advancing technological landscape, the app development industry is thriving in the Middle East. Capitalising on this factor, the fintech sector has introduced several useful digital banking solutions – from online payments to credit tracking.
With over 1,000,000 downloads and 900,000 active users, Al Ansari Exchange is termed the second largest fintech mobile app in the UAE. The application offers users a safe, hassle-free, and secure digital payments experience to its users. Using the latest advanced technology and a user-friendly interface, Al Ansari serves as the go-to online money transfer platform for many. Customers can even choose from multiple payment options, including credit, debit, and the platform’s PayPlus cards.
Al Ansari offers a range of additional convenience features. It offers the ability to track transactions, locate nearby banks, and add beneficiaries. Overall, the app allows instant money transfers over an easy-to-use interface.
Positioned as the number one fintech application in Egypt, myFawry is a digital payments platform with over 3.5 million downloads. It provides a suite of 1,886 financial services to both individuals and companies spread across 225,000 locations. Using the application, users have a much simpler and faster way to pay bills, book tickets, track their spending, and a lot more. As of Q3 2022, myFawry has generated over $293.4 million in annual revenues.
The application is sought after for its ease of use and high levels of security. It offers strong privacy protection with Face ID and biometrics authentication systems. In another useful feature, it also sends reminders and notifications for due bills and payments.
Your social and family relationships directly define your financial life, and are often called your “money circle”. But money circles can be wildly different for people in different socioeconomic settings. MoneyFellow redefines and digitises the concept of money circles into a mobile application, offering easy accessibility to credit. More than 4 million members are a part of this advanced digital money circle platform.
The application aims to make money circles friendlier and more inclusive. Whether you’re saving or buying more, with MoneyFellows, you can find the right fit for your financial goal. The platform also offers credit on-demand that users can pay back with flexible payment options.
ValU is one of the leading names in the Buy Now, Pay Later (BNPL) industry in Egypt. The platform offers individuals and businesses access to seamless digital banking and payment solutions. Using the application, you can shop across 3,500 online stores including Souq, IKEA, Azadea, and MAF, and pay for your purchase between six to 60 months.
ValU makes home purchasing simpler and more accessible, offering a range of products across fashion, home appliances, furniture, and more. As of August 2021, the application successfully clocked in 655,000 downloads.
With the growing smartphone penetration and exciting developments in fintech, these fintech mobile applications are set to reimagine the Middle Eastern digital banking landscape, and the financial industry as a whole. As more fintech apps emerge, we expect the advent of further transformative digital payment solutions across the Middle East.