The Emirates will soon become a cashless society, but it may also become more mobile driven when it comes to payments, says the CEO of mobile payments company, Trriple As many as 75% of all UAE transactions may be done in cash; however, this antiquated form of payment is as expensive as it is seemingly convenient, with global economists in agreement that the "cost of cash" ranges between 1.25 and 2.0 percent of the GDP of a nation. For an economy such as US with $16.5 trillion in GDP, the cost of cash per annum is $200 billion. There are tremendous efficiency costs to cash, whereas a cashless society means fewer direct costs to print and distribute money, but also far fewer opportunity and social costs related to criminal activity and black or grey market economics. Mobile payments bring increased efficiency, security, and social inclusion, elements not fully realized today with credit cards. "The way UAE consumers spend money is set to change forever, with mobile payments quickly becoming the norm rather than the exception. There is clearly a global push to move beyond using only plastic cards for payments, enriching the consumer experience through mobile apps," says Ahmed Fasih Akhtar, co-founder and chief executive officer of Trriple. The Trriple payment platform offers highly-secure and convenient payment solutions that include NFC and QR Code, between consumers holding their mobile wallets and merchants deploying their mobile Point of Sale (mPOS) terminals for accepting payments. Mobile wallet users can fund, or ‘top-up', their accounts in several ways: cash-in at merchant locations; credit or debit cards; ATM machine; and through salary transfers using the Wages Protections System (WPS) mandated by the Central Bank of UAE and Ministry of Labor. Trriple, as a bank-led mobile wallet provider has also partnered with major UAE banks to facilitate digital payments on its platform. Trriple is a UAE-based start up offering a first-of-its-kind mobile wallet that enables secure and convenient everyday payments saving consumers and businesses time and money, while meeting the regulatory environment of UAE. Ushering in the country's "cashless society" by delivering an inclusive payments ecosystem that is available to both the unbanked using cash, and the banked using cards, Trriple makes on-the-go mobile payments possible on a mass scale in line with the UAE Government's Vision for a Smart Society by 2017. — SG
