UAE’s grocery delivery service YallaMarket adopts crypto payments

YallaMarket, a grocery delivery platform in the UAE, announced Wednesday that they now accept crypto payments for customer orders, while the UAE is crypto-friendly and considered to be the center of cryptocurrency in the Middle East.

United Arab Emirates (UAE) has been one of the most aggressive with its crypto adoption strategy. They have talked about their goal to become a leader in the industry time and again. And it also shows in the approach the authorities and the companies in the country are adopting, as crypto payments became available on the grocery delivery service, YallaMarket, Bitcoinist reported.

Allowing users to pay with crypto regardless of how less they use this option is a great initiative. Once the penetration of cryptocurrencies is high enough, the payment side will also start to take off. Currently, the company YallaMarket has only started accepting stable coins Tether (USDT) and USD Coin (USDC) for payments. But soon, we might see more options.

The company is also considering paying its staff with cryptocurrencies. Moreover, YallaMarket is also contemplating accepting crypto investments from future investors and partners.

The company’s CEO, Leo Dovbenko, is a blockchain enthusiast. He wants to merge the metaverse with old payment systems to offer a better experience to the customers. Leo also has a lot of other startups, and this means those companies might start their crypto journey as well. He believes that the best way to future-proof a business is to adopt crypto in their finances before more people jump on the bandwagon.

For their crypto payments, YallaMarket has teamed up with CoinMena, a Bahrain-based crypto trading platform in line with their move to integrate crypto payments providing their customer’s convenience, speed, and flexibility.

CoinMENA’s CEO, Talal Tabbaa, is one with YallaMarket’s desire to future-proof the business by adopting digital asset classes.

YallaMarket offers home delivery services to customers who purchase groceries and other necessities. It was launched in 2021 and is based in Dubai, United Arab Emirates. They offer services through their mobile app and website and have dark stores set up in operating areas to deliver speedily to users. The company has already raised $2.5 million in funding rounds and has onboard Dubai’s Angel investors, S7 Ventures, and Wamda Capital. They have been successful in their operation in Dubai due to the fast deliveries and have also announced future initiatives to expand their reach to Qatar and Saudi Arabia.

Crypto is widely accepted in many parts of the UAE including the government’s crypto-friendly policies. Many crypto trading platforms have mushroomed in the Emirati region, such as Binance, FTX, BitOasis, and more.