Careem Pay widens Gulf transfer reach

Careem Pay has expanded its remittance service to Saudi Arabia and Türkiye, opening two new money-transfer corridors for UAE residents as digital finance platforms compete more aggressively for a larger share of cross-border payments in the Gulf. The company said transfers to bank accounts in both markets can be completed within five to 10 minutes, with transaction limits of up to AED150,000 for Türkiye and AED36,000 for Saudi Arabia. The service now covers more than 35 countries.

The move gives Careem Pay a stronger position in a market where speed, pricing and trust have become decisive factors. Saudi Arabia is a major financial destination within the wider Gulf economy, while Türkiye serves a different profile of customer demand, including family support, education-related transfers and larger personal payments. Mohammad El Saadi, vice-president of Careem Pay, said the two corridors reflected distinct user needs, with security and trust central to transfers into Saudi Arabia and faster settlement a priority for users sending money to Türkiye.

Careem said the new offering is also designed to deepen customer engagement inside its broader app ecosystem. Careem Plus members are being offered zero transfer fees and preferred exchange rates, a pricing strategy that turns remittances into both a financial product and a loyalty tool. That matters in the UAE, where digital payment firms are increasingly trying to keep users inside multi-service platforms rather than offering stand-alone transfer products.

Careem Pay was launched in the UAE in 2022 as a digital wallet and peer-to-peer payments product, before expanding into international transfers. The push into financial services formed part of Careem’s broader super-app strategy, which later drew a $400 million investment from e&, giving the telecoms group a majority stake in the super-app business while Uber retained ownership of Careem’s ride-hailing arm. That ownership structure has helped underpin Careem’s expansion beyond transport into payments, food, deliveries and other consumer services.

The timing of the expansion is significant because remittances remain one of the most competitive and structurally important payment categories across the Gulf. Global remittance flows continued to grow in 2024, with the World Bank estimating that officially recorded flows to low and middle-income countries reached about $685 billion. At the same time, digital channels have been gaining ground as users shift away from branch-based exchange houses towards app-based services that promise quicker transfers, clearer pricing and fewer steps.

That behavioural shift is visible in the UAE. Visa said in a 2025 study that nearly two in three people in the country preferred sending remittances through digital applications, with ease of use, privacy, safety and speed among the main reasons. A separate Visa release said 95 per cent of respondents in the UAE send remittances at least once a year, underscoring how deeply cross-border money transfers are woven into everyday financial life for many residents.

Saudi Arabia’s role in regional remittance flows also adds commercial weight to the corridor. Data cited from the Saudi Central Bank showed expatriate remittances from Saudi Arabia reached SAR165.5 billion in 2025, the highest annual level on record, highlighting the scale of cross-border payment activity tied to the Kingdom’s labour market and consumer economy. For fintech operators in the UAE, linking into such corridors is not only about outbound transfers but about building credibility in one of the world’s most active remittance regions.

For Careem Pay, the expansion signals a larger contest taking shape across Gulf fintech. Companies are no longer competing only on headline fees. Settlement time, user experience, subscription benefits and confidence in the safety of transactions are becoming equally important. Careem’s own marketing reflects that shift, stressing cheaper transfers than banks, app-based convenience and integration with everyday payments inside the same platform.