Adyen and Careem Pay have extended their eight-year partnership to support the growth of digital remittances in the UAE. The collaboration sees Adyen providing the underlying payments infrastructure for Careem Pay’s international money transfer service, which is already available to users within the Careem app and currently reaches more than 35 countries.
The move comes as remittances in the UAE continue their steady shift from traditional cash-based channels to digital platforms. For many expatriate workers, particularly from South Asia and other parts of the region, sending money home remains a vital monthly routine. Careem Pay, operating in partnership with Lulu Exchange and under Central Bank of the UAE licensing, is positioning itself to capture more of that flow by offering transfers to Europe, the Middle East, South Asia and additional destinations.
Through the deepened arrangement, Adyen will handle unified settlement and consolidated reporting for Careem Pay. The setup is intended to simplify operations, improve transparency, and help lift conversion and authorization rates. In an environment where reliability and speed matter as much as cost, these operational improvements could make a practical difference for both the platform and its users.
The partnership builds on an existing relationship that has already seen Adyen support Careem’s broader payment activities. While neither company has released specific volume figures for the remittance service, the timing aligns with broader regional trends. Digital remittance volumes across the GCC have been rising steadily as smartphone penetration deepens and regulatory frameworks for fintech mature. Yet the market remains competitive, with established players, new entrants and traditional exchange houses all vying for share. Success will likely hinge less on flashy claims and more on consistent execution, competitive fees and genuine ease of use.
Daumantas Grigaravicius, Adyen’s head of Middle East, described the expansion as a logical next step in supporting Careem Pay’s growth. Mohammad El Saadi, vice president of Careem Pay, emphasised the service’s focus on making transfers straightforward, affordable and trustworthy for customers who rely on them to support families abroad.
Careem itself has evolved significantly since its founding in 2012. What began as a ride-hailing service has expanded into a multi-service super app covering mobility, delivery, and now deeper financial features. With operations across more than 70 cities in ten countries, the company has built a large user base that gives it a natural distribution advantage for payments and remittances. Still, moving into financial services brings added regulatory scrutiny and the need for sustained investment in compliance, fraud prevention and customer support.
For Adyen, the deal adds another prominent Middle Eastern client to its portfolio in a region where cross-border payments carry both opportunity and complexity. The Dutch-listed company has long promoted its single global platform as a way to reduce fragmentation for merchants and service providers. In practice, that means fewer integrations and potentially smoother scaling, though real-world performance will depend on how well the system adapts to local market nuances and regulatory requirements.
Overall, the partnership reflects the ongoing digitisation of everyday financial needs in the UAE and wider region. While it is unlikely to transform the remittance landscape overnight, it does illustrate how established ride-hailing platforms are leveraging their user relationships to expand into adjacent services. In a market where trust and reliability ultimately determine long-term adoption, the real test will be whether Careem Pay can deliver consistently competitive experiences as it scales.
