Areeba, a leading payment service provider in the Middle East, wanted to create a simple, secure and affordable product to encourage digital payments over cash, which is the predominant means of payment in major Arab countries. Areeba collaborated with Mastercard’s Digital Labs team to develop a product that would provide a solution for transferring money, creating digital-first cards, paying bills and paying merchants using QR codes. Areeba has plans to roll out the product in additional Middle Eastern and African nations after it has been introduced in Lebanon and Iraq.
Areeba participated in a five-day rapid prototyping sprint with Mastercard’s team of design thinking and payments experts. At the end of the sprint, the co-creation team developed a prototype, pitch presentation and advertorial product video for its digital wallet, Zaky.
After undergoing development and system integration, Areeba introduced the concept to the market, thereby revolutionizing its payment services in Lebanon and other markets. The digital wallet provides a range of payment solutions, including instant fund transfers via mobile numbers, smooth payment requests and the ability to utilize services such as mobile top-ups, e-voucher acquisitions and internet vouchers. Additionally, it streamlines merchant transactions through secure and efficient QR code scans.