Lulu Outlets to Roll-Out Contactless Payment

Dubai: Innovative fintech start-up PayBy is partnering with the Middle East’s leading retail conglomerate, the LuLu Group, as it embarks on an ambitious digitalization programme. Following a successful pilot project in Abu Dhabi, PayBy’s revolutionary contactless payment solutions are now operational across more than 60 LuLu hypermarkets and stores in the UAE.
To prevent the spread of coronavirus through currency or cards, the UAE Central Bank in March urged the use of contactless payment methods. In response to growing consumer demand, PayBy’s QR Code-based contactless solutions are supporting UAE retail businesses as they transition to recovery in the wake of Covid-19.

When shopping in LuLu stores and hypermarkets, customers simply present the QR code in the PayBy app, let the cashier scan it and wait for the payment confirmation. After entering their PIN, TouchID or Face ID on their device, they can check the payment confirmation – the quick, contactless transaction is thus completed.

For online shoppers too, PayBy significantly reduces transaction time. On the LuLu website at checkout, shoppers select PayBy as a payment method, scan the QR code on the screen with their smartphone to process the payment, then enter the password, TouchID or Face ID. On the LuLu Shopping app, they are redirected to authorise the transaction through a password. PayBy eliminates the need to save or type in credit card details, wait for a one-time password (OTP) and then the verification code.

V. Nandakumar, Director – Marketing and Communications, LuLu Group, commented: “The LuLu Group is entering an ambitious phase of accelerated digital transformation and will rely on partnerships with innovative payment solutions such as PayBy that can be easily and swiftly integrated with existing payment infrastructure. Moving away from cash-based transactions offers greater safety, convenience and efficiency for consumers and businesses, and supports the UAE government as it strives towards increased financial inclusion in the economy.”

Cost-effective and easily integrated into existing checkout systems with minimal downtime, PayBy supports retailers looking to grow revenue through contactless payments without capital-intensive infrastructure upgrades.

PayBy’s point of sale (PoS) solutions can be adopted by a range of businesses – hypermarkets, taxis, baqala stores, restaurants, beauty salons and malls. The PoS solutions can be installed without any setup or monthly fees, and with lower transaction fees than existing solutions.

Financial transactions on PayBy are well protected by leading and proven technologies. The QR code generated by PayBy is based on tokenization – widely acknowledged as a more secure payment method as it is processed without exposing sensitive payment information.

Integrated in popular instant messaging platforms such as BOTIM and ToTok, PayBy is already ubiquitous and accessible to their large subscriber base. The PayBy native app is currently available in Google Play, Apple App Store and Huawei AppGallery. It can be used for payments at different merchants, to pay for deliveries on arrival, order goods and services online, transfer and receive money instantly, and even share cash gifts with family and friends.