2020 has been full of surprises, but the greatest of them so far has been the COVID-19 pandemic that swept the world off its feet with lockdowns worldwide and countries closing off their borders for the first time.

Washing one’s hands, wearing gloves and masks, and disinfecting your environment, are now a necessity to prevent getting infected with the coronavirus.

With all these measures taken, dealing with money remains unavoidable. Since the virus lasts on surfaces for some time, it is essential to be careful when dealing with real money. Fortunately, technology has provided a practical solution to dealing with physical cash with cashless payments made through platforms known as digital wallets.

So what are digital wallets exactly? And how can you start using one?

Digital Wallets

Digital wallets (also known as e-wallets) are software-based platforms used to store one’s payment information securely and allow digital money transactions with ease.

The best part is that your e-wallet doesn’t have to be separate from your bank account, with banks (like ADCB) offering this service for their customers.

How are cashless payments helping prevent infection?

According to WHO (World Health Organization), the new COVID-19 virus is spread through saliva or discharge from the nose when a person sneezes or coughs. Since a person may cough or sneeze and then handle money, it makes it very easy to find yourself with contaminated money.

To prevent getting infected, some people went as far as washing the money they receive as change after having bought something. It’s always important to stay safe. Especially that WHO has reported that COVID-19 can remain on surfaces for as long as 72 hours!

Cashless payments come in as a handy and practical solution for this dilemma. You no longer need to wash your money. Just use your smartphone to make money transactions to remain safe and hassle-free.

Examples of cashless payments

Some e-Wallet platforms are simple applications that you can download on your smartphone to make money transactions while others like the ADCB e-wallet service allow you to make transactions up to Dhs 300 in an account linked to your mobile phone. And the best part is that ADCB does not charge anything for the money transaction.

Along with the e-wallet service, ADCB also offers online banking which makes the hassle of going to the bank as easy as a click of a button. These online banking services include mobile banking, SMS banking, and phone banking.

Digital wallets make it safe for the transaction to occur. With the case of ADCB, once you decide to pay for something, a six-digit pin will be sent to your phone number to finalize the payment.

Other e-wallets may use different methods to protect your money, so make sure you understand those methods before using e-wallets. However, in general, digital wallet platforms tend to make their services as safe as possible for their users.

The COVID-19 outbreak is causing us to rethink our way of dealing with everything, including the way we handle money. It seems like the future is going to be cashless, not only because we’re trying to prevent the virus from spreading, but because it’s also a convenient way of handling money. Losing money will not seem to bother us anymore and locating an ATM while on the go will not be a priority before going out.

2020 with all its scary surprises is redefining our lifestyle. And hopefully, it’ll be for the better.

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