The UAE Banks Federation (UBF) has announced the formal launch of the implementation of the mobile wallet program in the country. A committee of nine member banks developed the project, which was unveiled in February this year. The mobile wallet program will be rolled out in different phases over the next year. The first phase of the project will include putting in place mobile payments and a money transfer platform for smartphones and other digital devices. Future phases of the project will make the mobile wallet available to visitors to the UAE, and will further extend the usability and functionality of the system. Mobile wallet is the financial component of the UAE’s smart government initiative that was launched by Dubai’s ruler Sheikh Mohammed Bin Rashid Al Maktoum in 2013. The initiative identified over 90 official services that require payments and the mobile wallet system will allow these payments to be completed from a purpose-designed platform that interfaces with all banks operating in the UAE.
