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Ramadan UAE: Give charity as you shop, without paying anything extra

Dubai - New mobile app allows people to donate money for charity.

Imagine making a social impact every time you shop or pay your bill at any restaurant. In line with spirit of giving of the holy month of Ramadan, a new mobile app has been launched across the UAE that allows people to donate money for charity and make a difference while they shop or dine out without having to pay anything extra.

SocioPay, a Dubai-based start-up, launched what is being termed as UAE's first retail scan and pay mobile app that allows customers to support charities with every payment they make. The scan and pay mobile application is powered by electronic payment platform noqodi that ensures that with every transaction, a percentage is donated to a charity of customer's choice, without any additional charges. This happens when as you make a payment for your bill value, you are given a cash back offer by several retailers, if you pay with SocioPay, you can donate 50 per cent or above from your cashback to any charity of your choice.

Explaining how the app works, Shravan Charya, Founder and CEO of SocioPay, said: “SocioPay enables users to donate a percentage of every transaction towards a charity of their choice at no additional cost. It can be downloaded for free on Play Store and App Store and creates a noqodi Wallet automatically, allowing users to link any payment method (card or wallet) for cashless and contactless payments at retail outlets, including restaurants, supermarkets, pharmacies and clinics. Once you log on to the app, you have an option to allocate cashback and giveback. For every transaction you make with the registered retailer of SocioPay, you will be guided to allocate 50 per cent or above of your cash back to charity (50 per cent is the minimum percentage of cashback that has to be given back with SocioPay). So every time you shop, you are giving a certain amount (50 per cent or above) of your cash back to charity.”

He added: “We noticed that a lot of merchants offer discounts but that discount is not valued or always availed of. So we came up with SocioPay so you feel the value of availing that discount by making a difference in someone else’s life. SocioPay is the first international application dedicated to create an eco-system of giving back to the society from every retail transaction made by the user, without additional costs.”

One of the features of the app is that you can invite other members of the community to download and join you in doing charity. Your community section on the app will help you see how much donations you and friends have made, Charya said.

The first two charities to partner with SocioPay are Dubai based Dubai Cares and Al Jalila Foundation towards which customers can donate. The app already has a portfolio of around 250 merchants ranging from restaurants, supermarkets, pharmacies, retail outlets, hotels and resorts, maintenance and other services, where people can use the app and donate without paying extra.

“We are delighted to partner with SocioPay. This partnership will bring a new era of digital social innovation to the UAE. While we ensure that all transactions made through SocioPay remain easy and secure, we are harnessing digital technology to bring innovation for businesses and social good,” said Thani Alzaffin, group CEO of emaratech, one of the app partners.

“The digital wallet noqodi has been launched in the context of the continuous efforts of the government of Dubai to facilitate digital payments for government transactions. We have a number of listed national banks and financial institutions that allow customers to add credit from their bank

accounts and use their digital wallet through SocioPay,” he added.

Dr. Tariq Al Gurg, CEO at Dubai Cares and Member of its Board of Directors said: “Technology has the power to change lives when it is created with purpose and used to deliver meaningful outcomes. SocioPay offers a unique and innovative solution for the UAE community to

give back during the holy month of Ramadan at the comfort of their fingertips. All contributions made to Dubai Cares will be used to empower children and youth with learning opportunities they could not otherwise afford due to the pandemic and other challenges facing their countries and communities. We encourage everyone to join us in our efforts to ensure that every child on this planet can enjoy his or her rightful access to education regardless of their circumstances.”

saman@khaleejtimes.com