Careem and Noon Receive Preliminary Approval to Launch Mobile Wallets in KSA

Ride-hailing app, Careem, and ecommerce platform, Noon, have been granted preliminary approval by the Saudi Arabian Monetary Authority to launch mobile wallets, Careem Pay and Noon Pay.

Careem Pay is already accessible through the main Careem app and allows users to add money, though the mobile wallet can, as of now, only be used to pay for rides, or for food orders via Careem Now. Noon Pay, meanwhile, will allow users to pay for products on the ecommerce platform, though it is believed that the wallet will also allow users to pay for products offline at select vendors.   

Both companies gained approval without going through a regulatory sandbox, which is part of the usual process of launching financial services into the market.

While details of how both companies will move forward are yet to be revealed, they enter into an increasingly competitive market alongside STC Pay, Halalah and Bayan Pay, all of whom have been granted full licenses to operate mobile wallets.