The UAE has long been seen as one of the leading economies in the Middle East, with states such as Dubai and Abu Dhabi renowned for their business centres and skylines dotted by some of the world’s tallest and most striking buildings.

Given that the UAE has worked hard to develop all manner of industries, it will come as welcome news to businesses and residents that Apple Pay is due to come to the country.

Al Arabiya reported that the UAE is one of the latest nations where Apple Pay will be rolled out internationally, with Denmark, Finland and Sweden all set to get the mobile payment technology for the first time later this year as well.

Once available, Apple Pay will be an option for customers at Emirates NBD, Mashreq, HSBC, Rakbank, Standard Chartered and Emirates Islamic, who can use their Apple smartphones to pay for transactions from their debit and credit card accounts in businesses that accept this method of payment.

But this isn’t the first mobile payment solution to be made available in the UAE, where Samsung Pay is already an option for those with a Samsung device, while EmiratesNBD Pay and Beam Wallet are the other digital wallets available in the country.

With more and more people adopting these kinds of payment methods, it’s vital to create a digital transition strategy in Dubai if you’re a retailer.

Earlier this year, a MasterCard study revealed that although digital wallets and mobile payments are well talked about on social media, adoption is still comparatively low. Just one per cent of total retail sales were carried out using this method, Business Insider reported.