Nowadays wherever/whenever you shop, the one question you will be asked is, What is the mode of payment? i.e through Cash or Card. Apart from cash and card, there are many other payment options.
With a rapid increase in technology, the mode of payments is getting easy day by day. Currently, there are different payment methods starting with the plastic cards to the current mobile wallets.
Here’s a list of few payment methods
Cash
The most common and ancient mode of payment is cash. According to a survey, cash is the most preferred payment method in UAE, unlike other countries where plastic or digital currencies are picked widely. Most of them prefer cash because it is easy to use and does not have any transaction charges.
Few suggest that the use of cash can reduce overspending and can have a record of the expenses. The other payment methods include the transaction charges each time you make some payment. But the only risk involved with cash is theft, which can be avoided if you are attentive.
Check: Top 5 Mobile apps that save money in UAE
Cheque
When compared to other payment methods cheques are being less preferred these days. This is picked when there are huge transactions involved, mostly when you need to pay someone and you don’t have cash or cards facility.
But make sure that you have sufficient funds in your account, so that you don’t need to pay a dishonor fee and can get behind the bars if the cheque bounces.
Credit cards
The most chosen mode of payment after cash is Credit cards. Around 70% of the UAE’s population use credit cards for their regular payments. This is the 2nd most preferred payment option by most of the Emirate’s residents. A Credit cardholder uses a credit card at least 3-4 times a week.
Even though credit card payments involve some risks if not used properly, offers on credit cards attract people i.e the cashback offers, entertainment and leisure benefits, free air tickets and much more. A Credit card can be a great tool if properly used, by making payments on time. Else it can have a higher impact on the credit score which can put you down financially.
Debit cards
After credit cards, Debit card is the most preferred payment option. A debit card involves less risk as it is highly secured with a 4 digit pin. Debit cards are extensively used for cash withdrawal from ATMs. There are no transaction fees involved if you use the debit card at your bank ATM. Other bank’s ATMs can charge you some fees.
Online payment methods
Online payments can be done if you have a credit/debit card or online banking facility. In this era of online shopping, most of the payments are one through cash or online. Apart from online shopping, this can be useful for funds transfer, be it to another bank account or same bank accounts. They use highly secured payment gateways.
Mobile wallets
Digital currency is something trending currently. As the name indicates, your mobile can be your wallet. This is the easiest mode of payment where a transaction takes less than a minute. Mobile wallets have gained this popularity firstly because even if you forget cash or cards, mobile wallets can come handy. It is easy to access and highly secured. It provides high cash back facilities.
Of late several wallets have introduced and even Dubai government has introduced its wallet emCash which can be used as digital currency and cryptocurrency as well. Different wallets provide different payment rewards, the more you use the more benefits you get.
There are various wallets like Apple Pay, PayPal, Google Pay, etc., these wallets are famous globally and can be used anywhere.
Apple Pay
Apple Pay is a payment wallet launched by Apple Inc. This is available on the Apple products i.e iPhone, iPad, Apple watches or Mac. It works with a motto “Cashless made effortless”. Payments using Apple pay can be done within seconds, it is very simple and easy to use. The transactions can be done with the touch id. You can download it in the App store.
Google Pay
Google Pay which was previously known as Google Wallet, and is developed by Google. It is available for Android users. The best feature of this wallet is, it doesn’t require the app to be installed on your phone. You can just get it in wallet.google.com and have quick transaction just with the email id or phone number.
PayPal
PayPal is used for online money transfer and payment gateway for many e-commerce sites. This is the current payment gateway for the very famous shopping site ebay.com. To transfer funds PayPal app can be downloaded from App Store, Play Store, and Windows. It is available for Windows, Android, and iOS. They provide various cashback offers and rewards for each usage.
Even few well-known banks have introduced their mobile wallets like Mashreq Neo, RAKBank Mobile Banking app.
Currently, in UAE, Cash and Credit cards are most frequently used, followed by a debit card and mobile wallets. Nowadays Credit Cards acceptance has become as common as Cash payments. Every payment methods involve some transaction charges, even cash withdrawal can include some charges if you withdraw from an ATM & exceed the limit(Depends on the banks). So check with the transaction charges are prefer the one which involves fewer charges and provides more benefits.
About the author
Nikitha is a Senior Analyst at MyMoneySouq.com. She has been writing about personal finance, credit cards, mortgage, and other personal finance products in the UAE. Her work on Mortgage loans has been featured by the GulfNews and other popular Financial Blogs in the UAE.
