Careem, a Dubai-based vehicle for hire company, has acquired assets of Denarii, a leading money transfer platform in the region, that integrates fintech and financial institutions with remittance aggregators, banks, exchanges and wallets globally.
Founded in 2019 by Mr. Jon Santillan and Mr. Walfrido Perez, Denarii’s proprietary money transfer technology uses a single API call to enable fintech like Careem Pay to facilitate quick and affordable international money transfers. Denarii also helps businesses build secure profit centers by automating accounts payable and B2B payments.
Careem Pay will use Denarii’s money transfer technology to connect customers and Captains with remittance services provided by licensed providers. Careem already has a large presence in countries connecting some of the most active remittance corridors in the world, such as the UAE, KSA and Pakistan.
Careem Pay offers a digital wallet that stores real money for customers in the UAE as well as a peer-to-peer (P2P) transfer product that enables customers to send, request and receive money using just a phone number, personal QR code, or personal payment link. Seamless access to international remittance services will round out Careem Pay’s payment offering for customers and Captains to address their everyday financial needs.
Mudassir Sheikha CEO & Co-Founder Careem
“We’re thrilled to acquire the assets of Denarii, a startup that is transforming the way people move money across the world. Denarii’s innovative API will accelerate our journey to offering simple and affordable international remittance services, adding to the wide variety of services already available through Careem Pay.”
Mr. Santillan said that “Careem’s large network of customers, Captains and merchants, and a decade of payments processing experience, will enable us to increase the impact of the money transfer technology we built through Denarii. Careem has done more than any startup in the region to simplify and improve lives and we’re excited to join the team to increase economic freedom for millions of people.”
In the UAE, the Careem Super App offers more than a dozen services including ride-hailing, food and grocery delivery, micro-mobility, digital financial services, and partner services including car rental, home cleaning and PCR testing.
