Careem Pay
Money transfer app
An in-app digital wallet and remittance service from UAE super-app Careem, offering low and zero-fee international transfers from the UAE to a range of countries the company states is 35+, regulated via Central Bank of the UAE-licensed partners.
Last updated June 2026
At a glance
- Founded
- Careem (parent) was founded in 2012 by Mudassir Sheikha and Magnus Olsson, with Abdulla Elyas joining as a co-founder in 2015. The Careem Pay digital wallet launched on 22 April 2022, with the international remittance service following in 2023.
- Headquarters
- Dubai, United Arab Emirates
- Legal entity
- Careem Pay is the fintech arm of Careem, operated under the UAE-registered Careem group entity Careem Networks FZ-LLC. The payments business sits within Careem Technologies, the super-app entity launched in 2023 as the "Careem Everything App."
- Regulation
- Careem Pay's wallet and peer-to-peer transfer service launched under authorization of the Central Bank of the UAE (CBUAE), in partnership with First Abu Dhabi Bank and payments processor Magnati (2022).
- Careem Pay's international remittance service is provided in partnership with Lulu Exchange, which is licensed and regulated by the Central Bank of the UAE; the UAE remittance activity is conducted under CBUAE oversight.
- No specific CBUAE license number for the Careem entity was found in public sources (unknown).
Is Careem Pay safe and trustworthy?
Careem Pay operates within a regulated UAE framework: its wallet and peer-to-peer service is authorized by the Central Bank of the UAE, and its remittance service runs in partnership with Lulu Exchange, a CBUAE-licensed and regulated exchange house. It is owned by Uber, which holds a controlling stake in Careem Technologies as of June 2026, and e&, a 37.53% minority shareholder, both large and established companies. The parent Careem brand has operated since 2012 and was acquired by Uber for $3.1 billion in a deal that closed in January 2020. The consumer Careem app holds an approximately 4.2–4.3-star rating on Google Play across roughly 1M+ reviews as of mid-2026, though that rating covers the whole super-app rather than Careem Pay specifically and should be re-checked against the live store listing. Taken together, the regulatory standing, partner structure, ownership and operating history are positive signals; as with any provider, users should still confirm live rates and limits before sending.
History of Careem Pay
Careem began in 2012 as a Dubai-based ride-hailing company founded by ex-McKinsey consultants Mudassir Sheikha and Magnus Olsson, and was acquired by Uber for $3.1 billion in a deal that closed in January 2020. Careem Pay, the group's fintech arm, launched a digital wallet and peer-to-peer transfers in the UAE on 22 April 2022, in partnership with First Abu Dhabi Bank and payments processor Magnati, under Central Bank of the UAE authorization. In December 2023, UAE telecom group e& completed the acquisition of a majority stake (50.03%) in the carved-out Careem super-app entity (Careem Technologies) for roughly $400 million, while Uber retained the ride-hailing business; the payments arm sits within this super-app entity.
Growth and scale
Careem Pay expanded from domestic peer-to-peer transfers in 2022 into cross-border remittances from 2023, growing from a handful of corridors (such as India, Pakistan, the Philippines, the UK and Europe) to what the company states is 35+ destination countries by 2025-2026, adding markets including Egypt, Lebanon (cash pickup), Türkiye and Saudi Arabia. The company has reported India-corridor metrics of roughly 77% monthly repeat-user retention and an average transaction time of around 15 minutes (as of late 2023), with processing partners including Lulu Exchange (its CBUAE-licensed remittance partner) and Adyen (payments infrastructure). Specific Careem Pay transfer volumes and registered-user counts are unknown from public sources.
Where it stands today
Active and expanding as of mid-2026. In June 2026, Uber acquired an additional 12.5% of Careem Technologies from e& for $100 million, reducing e&'s stake to 37.53% and giving Uber a controlling position in the super-app and payments entity (Uber separately fully owns Careem's ride-hailing business); e& and Uber hold reciprocal put/call options exercisable between December 2031 and January 2032. Careem Pay continued expanding its remittance corridors through late 2025 and into 2026 (including Türkiye and Saudi Arabia) and announced a deepened partnership with Adyen to scale digital remittances.
Does Careem Pay give the best rate?
Careem Pay positions itself as a low-cost alternative to banks, advertising "zero fees" on many corridors and claiming savings of up to around 50% versus banks; these savings claims are Careem's own and vary by corridor, amount and date. Careem Plus members are offered zero fees and preferential exchange rates. Because it generally promotes a no-fee model, the effective cost is typically embedded in the FX spread rather than charged as an explicit fee. It is generally competitive for app-based digital transfers, but the actual best rate varies by corridor, amount and day, and a dedicated exchange house can sometimes beat it on a given route. A live comparison decides which provider wins for a specific transfer.
Compare Careem Pay's live rateWho Careem Pay is best for
UAE residents who already use the Careem app and want fast, low or zero-fee digital remittances to major expat corridors (such as India, Pakistan, the Philippines, Egypt, the UK and Europe, Türkiye and Saudi Arabia) with bank-deposit and some cash-pickup delivery, often within minutes; especially convenient for Careem Plus subscribers seeking fee-free transfers without visiting a branch.
Compare Careem Pay by destination
Sources
Important — please read
Last updated June 2026. This page is provided for general information only and is compiled from publicly available sources, accurate to the best of our knowledge at the date shown. Information can change and may contain errors or omissions. Rate Wala is an independent comparison service and is not affiliated with, endorsed by, or acting on behalf of Careem Pay.
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