I tell you what, I really enjoyed visiting Bahrain. Really enjoyed it. I liked everything. I liked the small but very modern airport. I really enjoyed meeting local Bahrainis who were all incredibly positive and friendly. And I really appreciated how I was able to use contactless – Apple Pay in my case – everywhere. […]
Tag Archives | contactless
GCC Contactless Challenge: Digital Qatar was mobile only for me, no plastic, no paper!
Hello from Doha, Qatar. I have had a great time with my on-going GCC Contactless Challenge here in Doha. Everything – and I do mean everything – has been utterly seamless from a contactless/Apple Pay standpoint. I haven’t had to use cash, or even credit card at any point. Now, again, it’s worth pointing out […]
GCC Contactless Challenge, Kuwait: Schoolboy errors and then Apple Pay all the way
I made a series of schoolboy errors when I arrived here in Kuwait, meaning that I failed spectacularly in my GCC Contactless Challenge for the country, on the first day! Arrgh! But, it’s got a lot better. First, here’s a reminder about the ‘Contactless Challenge’ I set myself as I began my FinTech Tour around […]
My favourite photo illustrating the progress of Saudi Arabia’s digital payments ecosystem
This is my favourite photo of my trip to Saudi Arabia. I know from closely browsing the Visit Saudi website that there are some much better-looking vistas across the Kingdom (like, for example Al Hada Road). But that hasn’t been my focus for this trip. I was aiming to see just how things have been […]
Digital Saudi: My super contactless journey in Riyadh
So following on from my fantastic contactless Dubai experiment, I flew to Saudi Arabia yesterday. I would normally use a local taxi from the airport – but this time I decided to check out Careem (Uber) and used that to summon a Lexus 350 with a local driver. “Kif Halik?” (How are you?) He asked […]