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Saudi Arabia’s Hajj 2023 Expo Promises A High-Tech Pilgrimage

The Saudi Arabian government and private tech companies have shown off the latest solutions to help pilgrims enjoy a smooth experience during their journey.

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saudi arabia's hajj 2023 expo promises a high-tech pilgrimage

Hajj is one of Islam’s most important pilgrimages, with around 2.5 million people making the journey in 2019, before COVID-19 travel restrictions forced officials to limit numbers.

This year, Dr. Tawfiq Al Rabiah, Minister of Hajj and Umrah, revealed that the number of pilgrims would be allowed to return to pre-pandemic levels. Due to the enormous scale of the annual Mecca festival, Saudi Arabian authorities must do everything in their power to ensure everything runs smoothly and safely.

During the Hajj Expo 2023, service providers from various fields came together to demonstrate their solutions, many of which involved emerging technologies.

saudi arabia hajj 2023 expo

One of the most notable new developments is the launch of a smartcard which, with the help of the Nusuk foundation, will store a user’s personal, residential, and health information in the Nusuk app. In addition, artificial intelligence (AI) will also help with “everything from performing the rituals to leaving the holy sites and the Kingdom”. Last week, the Saudi government announced that registrations would open on the ministry’s website and the Nusuk application.

Along with official service providers, private companies also exhibited their solutions. The Tawkeel application was created by a Saudi-based tech startup and aims to help pilgrims “delegate rituals”. Often, worshippers cannot travel to Mecca due to disabilities or financial reasons. The new app will allow those people to track the progress of the person performing rituals on their behalf and can also be used to ask them to recite specific prayers.

Also Read: New Tech Allows Faster Breast Cancer Detection In Middle East

Due to the scale of the event, Hajj officials often have to deal with severe accidents, including stampedes and crushes that have injured hundreds or even thousands of people. With that in mind, Tuwaiq ambulance showcased their latest vehicle, capable of evacuating 10 patients during an emergency, complete with onboard oxygen and medical supplies.

As well as emergency vehicles, site infrastructure also needs careful consideration. This year’s event will see the addition of 25 km of new ring roads around the site, which will link “the First Ring Road with the Masar project and the Makkah Reconstruction and Development project”, according to Saleh Al Rasheed, chief executive of the Royal Commission for Makkah City and Holy Sites.

The Hajj expo 2023 has shown how seriously the Kingdom is taking digital transformation. This year’s pilgrimage is shaping up to be more technologically advanced than ever before, blending traditional and modern values without diluting the importance of this sacred event.

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Checkout.com Brings Visa Direct Push-To-Card To The UAE

The payment company is the first acquirer in the UAE to launch Visa Direct’s solution, enabling safe, instant money transfers.

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checkout.com brings visa direct push-to-card to the uae

Checkout.com has taken the UAE a step closer to its goal of a fully digital economy by becoming the first acquirer in the country to offer Visa Direct’s Push-to-Card solution. The new service will streamline money transfers for both businesses and consumers, enabling near-instant transactions across local and international markets.

Visa Direct connects over 190 markets and supports over 8.5 billion endpoints, including cards, bank accounts, and digital wallets. Push-to-Card transactions enhance efficiency for business users and consumers by allowing money to be sent quickly and easily to eligible Visa cards while leveraging the company’s secure network for reliability.

checkout and visa uae partnership

“Visa Direct is transforming the way money moves globally, and we are excited to see Checkout.com leverage this technology to meet the evolving demands of businesses and individuals alike by offering them a faster, more convenient, and secure way to send and receive funds,” said Shahebaz Khan, Senior Vice President and Head of Commercial and Money Movement Solutions, CEMEA.

The UAE has been at the forefront of digital payment adoption, driven by a national push toward a cashless economy. Remo Giovanni Abbondandolo, General Manager for MENA at Checkout.com, emphasized this shift: “By providing seamless, secure, and real-time payout capabilities, we’re empowering merchants with the agility to thrive in this fast-evolving landscape, while effectively meeting the growing consumer demand for speed and convenience. The Push-to-Card solution not only reinforces our commitment to powering payment performance but also showcases our agility in bringing yet another innovation to the UAE market.”

Also Read: Qareeb Partners With Pantheon For GCC Bitcoin Mining Expansion

Checkout.com’s latest MENA eCommerce data highlights the region’s increasing engagement with financial technologies, with around 80% of consumers participating in activities beyond basic online payments, such as money transfers and personal wealth management. The growing demand for real-time financial transactions has made fast, seamless payment solutions a priority.

To meet this demand, Account Funding Transactions (AFTs) have gained traction in the UAE. By integrating AFTs with Visa’s Push-to-Card services, Checkout.com is helping merchants offer secure, real-time account top-ups. Currently processing over one million AFTs per month with Visa, Checkout.com is now playing a leading role in modernizing financial transactions in the region.

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