Samsung Pay launched in South Korea in 2015 and is spreading to more countries, including the UAE. Kim Hong-ji / Reuters
Samsung Pay launched in South Korea in 2015 and is spreading to more countries, including the UAE. Kim Hong-ji / Reuters

Business

Trial run in UAE for Samsung Pay mobile payments

Samsung Pay, first launched in South Korea in August 2015, will allow users of selected Samsung smartphones to use their mobiles to make credit card and debit card payments.

John Everington

04 April, 2017

Samsung has announced the launch of the “early access phase” for its Samsung Pay mobile payments services in the UAE, with testing of the service extended to six local banks.

Samsung Pay, first launched in South Korea in August 2015, will allow users of selected Samsung smartphones to use their mobiles to make credit card and debit card payments.

Emirates NBD announced on Tuesday that a select group of its customers had been invited to try out the service in its beta testing phase by enrolling their Visa or MasterCard debit or credit cards to work with their handsets.

Mashreq was the first bank to make the service available to its customers in January. Standard Chartered, First Abu Dhabi Bank, ADCB and RAKBank are all trialling the system.

“We are excited to be in the early access phase of bringing this service to the UAE and we hope to introduce this value-added service to the entire public permanently very soon,” said Mohammad Gharaibeh, the head of IT and Mobiles (B2B) division at Samsung Gulf Electronics.

The service, which competes internationally with Apple’s Apple Pay, was rolled out in India last month, in conjunction with the popular digital payments offering Paytm and five banks.

Samsung Pay is available for owners of the Galaxy S6 Edge +, Galaxy S7/S7 Edge, Galaxy A3 (2017), Galaxy A5 (2016,2017), Galaxy A7 (2016,2017), and Note 5 handsets, as well as the upcoming Galaxy S8 and S8+.

jeverington@thenational.ae

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Why does a queen bee feast only on royal jelly?

Some facts about bees:

The queen bee eats only royal jelly, an extraordinary food created by worker bees so she lives much longer

The life cycle of a worker bee is from 40-60 days

A queen bee lives for 3-5 years

This allows her to lay millions of eggs and allows the continuity of the bee colony

About 20,000 honey bees and one queen populate each hive

Honey is packed with vital vitamins, minerals, enzymes, water and anti-oxidants.

Apart from honey, five other products are royal jelly, the special food bees feed their queen 

Pollen is their protein source, a super food that is nutritious, rich in amino acids

Beewax is used to construct the combs. Due to its anti-fungal, anti-bacterial elements, it is used in skin treatments

Propolis, a resin-like material produced by bees is used to make hives. It has natural antibiotic qualities so works to sterilize hive,  protects from disease, keeps their home free from germs. Also used to treat sores, infection, warts

Bee venom is used by bees to protect themselves. Has anti-inflammatory properties, sometimes used to relieve conditions such as rheumatoid arthritis, nerve and muscle pain

Honey, royal jelly, pollen have health enhancing qualities

The other three products are used for therapeutic purposes

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As long as you deal with bees gently, you will be safe, says Mohammed Al Najeh, who has worked with bees since he was a boy.

“The biggest mistake people make is they panic when they see a bee. They are small but smart creatures. If you move your hand quickly to hit the bees, this is an aggressive action and bees will defend themselves. They can sense the adrenalin in our body. But if we are calm, they are move away.”

 

 

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The Safer has been moored off the Yemeni coast of Ras Issa since 1988.
The Houthis have been blockading UN efforts to inspect and maintain the vessel since 2015, when the war between the group and the Yemen government, backed by the Saudi-led coalition began.
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