Since its creation in 2012, Careem, the ‘everything app’, has repeatedly outdone itself, expanding across the Middle East and Africa region to operate in over 10 countries and 70 cities. In its latest announcement, the digital wallet and fintech platform with the app, Careem Pay, has expanded its international remittance service to increase its accessibility to customers in the Philippines.
Careem Pay simplifies financial management for customers, captains, and business owners through a range of digital services, including bill payments and domestic and international transfers. Now, it will have a huge opportunity to help the Filippino remittance market as over 750,000 Filippino expats live in the UAE, accounting for seven per cent of the UAE’s population. In 2023 alone, the Philippines received AED five billion ($1.35billion) from the UAE according to Statista.
UAE residents will now be able to send up to AED 45,000 per transaction and up to AED 135,000 per month to bank accounts in the Philippines using the recipient’s bank account number and sort code, or IBAN, at competitive exchange rates and speed. Within seven minutes, the money will be in the recipient’s bank. Customers receive exactly the amount of money shown on the app after accounting for any back-end fees imposed by banks in the Philippines.
Mohammad El Saadi, VP of Careem Pay commented: “Remittances are a lifeline for millions of families across our region. It’s essential that all expat communities have access to a simple and affordable way to send money back home, be it to support their families or for personal investments.
“Careem Pay’s purpose is to simplify financial services and improve financial inclusion across the region, and we’re thrilled to see our remittance services to India, Pakistan and the UK enable so many customers to send money abroad with ease. We’re excited to extend this critical service to another significant segment of the UAE population.”
Building on success
The launch of near-instant transfers to the Philippines is the latest addition to Careem’s remittance corridors which already include India, Pakistan, and the UK. In 2024, one customer transferred AED 45,000 to a recipient in India in just 37 seconds. Another active customer transferred over AED 504,000 from the UAE to Pakistan through Careem Pay.
Lastly, Careem Pay introduced a new referral program for remittance users. New users who send money abroad through a referral link will receive AED 40 credited to their Careem Pay wallet as a result.
