Dubai-based fintech Rise eases remittances with new app

A new fintech service enables users to share access to their account and credit card with their friends and family while maintaining control over how money in their account is spent and without sharing any sensitive information.

The ‘Xare’ app is a product of Rise, a financial services platform designed for expatriate workers who regularly remit money to family back home.

Migrant workers typically send around 80 per cent of their wages back home to their families; however, once the money has left their host country, they often have zero control or transparency over how it is spent. Furthermore, the remittances process can be slow and incur hefty fees. Xare enables overseas workers to share their funds instantly using the app.

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Beyond remittances, users can also share credit with friends to save them from taking expensive short-term loans. Short term loans in many advanced markets like the UK can cost up to 24 per cent per month. Xare provides a fairer alternative, allowing people to help each other even if they do not have the cash to do so. It can also be used by parents who want to give their children cash for their day-to-day expenses or as a gift.

Users need only a valid phone number to register. To share a credit card, users select a contact from their phone and can set daily or monthly limits, and even expiry dates. The app’s privacy settings mean that card details are never seen by the beneficiary and are not stored by Xare centrally. Once issued with a Xare virtual card, beneficiaries can make purchases in thousands of stores globally, the company said.

The app will be available to the public by mid-November.

Rise is a Dubai-based fintech startup whose stated mission is to democratise access to essential financial services for the modest-income migrant population in the GCC. In March of this year, the company announced it has raised a seven-digit investment to further develop financial products and services and expand its footprint to Bahrain and Saudi Arabia. The fund raise was led by Middle East Venture Partners (MEVP) in partnership with Dubai International Financial Centre (DIFC) Fintech Fund, 500 Startups, Khwarizmi Ventures and Phoenician Funds.