Abu Dhabi Commercial Bank Ltd. last week announced a free mobile-payment service that will enable its customers to make small-ticket purchases at merchant locations within the United Arab Emirates.
The bank is partnering with U.S.-based mobile-payments provider Mobibucks Corp. to launch the Mobi service, which it will launch July 1, the bank announced in a June 1 press release.
The bank expects 300,000 customers to register for the service by the end of the year, a spokesperson for the bank tells PaymentsSource.
The carrier-free service enables customers to use their mobile-phone number to top up a prepaid account online or at a merchant’s terminal with cash or a card. The service supports payments valued up to 300 dirhams (US$82 or 56 euros), and users may store up to 1,000 dirhams in the prepaid account, according to the release.
To make a purchase at a participating merchant, users of the service enter their mobile-phone number and a six-digit PIN on a merchant’s Mobi-enabled handset. The bank then sends the customer a text message asking for his authorization, which he can do by replying with a yes or no text message. Once the customer confirms the transaction, the bank sends the funds to the merchant’s account.
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