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Wallets/botim-money

botim money (formerly PayBy)

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Overview

PayBy was an Abu Dhabi payment company with a consumer wallet app and a merchant-acceptance business. The UAE technology group Astra Tech bought it in 2022 [1](https://www.wamda.com/en/2022/08/astratech-acquires-fintech-app-payby) and in October 2025 renamed it botim money [7](https://www.khaleejtimes.com/business/finance/astra-tech-unveils-botim-money-find-all-financial-services-in-one-place). Today the consumer wallet lives inside the botim calling and messaging app, while botim money for Business sells payment gateways, POS terminals, QR codes and salary cards to merchants [7](https://www.khaleejtimes.com/business/finance/astra-tech-unveils-botim-money-find-all-financial-services-in-one-place)[9](https://www.botim.money/). The Central Bank of the UAE licenses it as both a Stored Value Facility and a Retail Payment Services provider [2](https://thefintechtimes.com/astra-tech-payby-from-uae-central-bank/).

If you live in the UAE, you use it as a wallet in the botim app. You top it up from a bank account, a UAE-issued card or a cash kiosk, send money to other botim users by phone number, send to any bank account through the central bank's instant system Aani, pay by scanning a botim QR code, and spend abroad with a botim Mastercard prepaid card. The standard wallet holds and spends up to AED 25,000 a month [11](https://astratech.ae/platform-terms/faq/botim-money-wallet/).

History

  • Founding: 2019 or 2005. Sources disagree. Wamda's 2022 report says Sean Wang founded PayBy in 2019 [1](https://www.wamda.com/en/2022/08/astratech-acquires-fintech-app-payby). The botim money "About" page, which still carries the PayBy page title, says "Botim Money was launched in 2005 and authorized as a payment institution" [8](https://www.botim.money/about). No other source we found supports 2005.
  • 27 May 2020: the app. The PayBy iOS app ("PayBy – Mobile Payment", bundle ae.payby.ios.saladin) was first released on 27 May 2020. Its store text calls PayBy "an Abu Dhabi-based Fintech company" and describes QR payments online and in shops, coupons, card management, mobile top-up and cash in and out, protected by face and fingerprint recognition [16](https://apps.apple.com/ae/app/payby-mobile-payment/id1513907527).
  • 2022: Astra Tech buys PayBy. Wamda reported the deal on 11 August 2022, for an undisclosed sum. The press release said PayBy had "more than 2 million users and thousands of active merchants" and that "as of May 2022, over AED 600 million worth of transactions were carried out." Wamda's own summary reads that as "$160 million worth of transactions during May 2022", which is not what the release says [1](https://www.wamda.com/en/2022/08/astratech-acquires-fintech-app-payby). The botim money About page gives the acquisition as May 2022 [8](https://www.botim.money/about).
  • January 2023: licences. The Central Bank of the UAE licensed PayBy to run Stored Value Facility (SVF) and Retail Payment Services (RPS) operations. The Fintech Times reported it on 6 January 2023 [2](https://thefintechtimes.com/astra-tech-payby-from-uae-central-bank/) and FinanceFeeds on 9 January [3](https://financefeeds.com/astratechs-payby-secures-uae-licenses-svp-and-rps-towards-cashless-ecosystem/). The botim money About page dates the licences 5 January 2023 [8](https://www.botim.money/about). The services were to reach users through Astra Tech's "upcoming app" [2](https://thefintechtimes.com/astra-tech-payby-from-uae-central-bank/).
  • 13 March 2023: Mastercard. PayBy obtained a Mastercard principal membership licence, which lets it issue prepaid and debit cards, act as an acquirer, and sponsor BINs for other fintechs. Mastercard called PayBy "one of the first to launch multi-currency prepaid metal cards". The same release says Astra had launched international money transfers on botim earlier that month [4](https://newsroom.mastercard.com/news/eemea/en/newsroom/press-releases/en/2023/march/astra-tech-and-mastercard-forge-first-of-its-kind-agreement-to-pave-the-way-for-new-digital-payment-solutions).
  • 4 September 2023: Alipay+. Astra Tech and Ant Group announced that the PayBy merchant network would accept six Alipay+ partner wallets (Alipay, MPay, Kakao Pay, GCash, TrueMoney and Tinaba) at nearly 7,000 Abu Dhabi taxis and over 3,000 merchants [5](https://www.zawya.com/en/press-release/companies-news/astra-tech-and-ant-group-to-launch-first-of-its-kind-alipay-cross-border-digital-payments-solution-in-the-uae-rexr3oav).
  • February 2024: Aani. botim, "powered by PayBy", added Aani, the central bank's instant payment platform run by Al Etihad Payments; The Paypers reported it on 6 February 2024 [6](https://thepaypers.com/payments/news/astra-tech-partners-with-al-etihad-payments).
  • 7 October 2025: botim money. Astra Tech renamed PayBy "botim money", put its consumer services under the botim brand and launched "botim money for Business" for merchants [7](https://www.khaleejtimes.com/business/finance/astra-tech-unveils-botim-money-find-all-financial-services-in-one-place). Astra Tech's own timeline says "PayBy evolves into botim money for business" [15](https://astratech.ae/).

Ownership & operator

Owner. Astra Tech, a UAE group established in 2022 that also owns botim and Rizek [15](https://astratech.ae/)[8](https://www.botim.money/about). Khaleej Times calls Astra Tech "the consumer conduit of the G42 ecosystem" [7](https://www.khaleejtimes.com/business/finance/astra-tech-unveils-botim-money-find-all-financial-services-in-one-place), and Astra's timeline records a $500 million raise "led by G42" [15](https://astratech.ae/).

Legal entities. We found no central-bank register entry: the CBUAE site refused our fetches. The app stores name two entities. The PayBy Android app is published by PayBy Technology Projects L.L.C. [17](https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=ae.payby.android.saladin) and the PayBy iOS app is sold by Botim Money Technology LLC [16](https://apps.apple.com/ae/app/payby-mobile-payment/id1513907527). The botim app itself is published by Algento Cloud Computing Limited on iOS [18](https://apps.apple.com/ae/app/botim/id1263036818) and by ALGENTO DMCC on Google Play [19](https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=im.thebot.messenger).

Regulator and licences. The Central Bank of the UAE, with SVF and RPS licences since January 2023 [2](https://thefintechtimes.com/astra-tech-payby-from-uae-central-bank/). Khaleej Times describes it as "the first fintech to secure dual authorization to operate as both a Retail Payment Services Provider and a Stored Value Facility under its PayBy branding" [7](https://www.khaleejtimes.com/business/finance/astra-tech-unveils-botim-money-find-all-financial-services-in-one-place). It is also a Mastercard principal member [4](https://newsroom.mastercard.com/news/eemea/en/newsroom/press-releases/en/2023/march/astra-tech-and-mastercard-forge-first-of-its-kind-agreement-to-pave-the-way-for-new-digital-payment-solutions).

Technical integration

How you pay and get paid (consumer wallet in botim).

Action How it works Source
Top up Transfer to your botim IBAN from any bank app; a UAE-issued debit, prepaid or credit card; cash at MBME, MangoPay, iPOS or Mulphico kiosks; or receive from another botim user or through Aani [11](https://astratech.ae/platform-terms/faq/botim-money-wallet/)
Send in the UAE Wallet to wallet by phone number or contact; wallet to Aani by an Aani-registered phone number; the recipient must accept a wallet transfer within 24 hours or it is refunded [11](https://astratech.ae/platform-terms/faq/botim-money-wallet/)
Pay or request by QR "Scan to Pay" reads a botim QR code; "Request" shows a QR code for the payer to scan [11](https://astratech.ae/platform-terms/faq/botim-money-wallet/)
Withdraw To a UAE bank account by IBAN, or through Aani [11](https://astratech.ae/platform-terms/faq/botim-money-wallet/)
Send abroad International Transfer mini-programme in botim; bank transfer, digital wallet, cash pickup or UPI depending on the country; Emirates ID required [12](https://astratech.ae/platform-terms/faq/botim-money-international-transfer/)
Card Free virtual botim prepaid card (AED and USD balances) for Apple Pay and Google Pay; physical card AED 35, metal card AED 285; Samsung Wallet not supported [13](https://astratech.ae/platform-terms/faq/botim-money-botim-prepaid-card/)[14](https://astratech.ae/platform-terms/schedule-of-charges.html)

Standards.

  • Aani: partial. Users register for Aani inside the botim wallet, then send to Aani-registered phone numbers and withdraw to their own accounts. The FAQ lists QR code payments and payment requests over Aani as "future features", and Aani transfers are domestic AED only [11](https://astratech.ae/platform-terms/faq/botim-money-wallet/). If the recipient has not activated Aani, botim sends the money as an ordinary transfer to their wallet [6](https://thepaypers.com/payments/news/astra-tech-partners-with-al-etihad-payments).
  • Alipay QR: partial, merchant side. botim money merchants accept Alipay+ wallets: the shopper scans the cashier's QR code or the merchant scans the shopper's payment code [5](https://www.zawya.com/en/press-release/companies-news/astra-tech-and-ant-group-to-launch-first-of-its-kind-alipay-cross-border-digital-payments-solution-in-the-uae-rexr3oav). The merchant site also lists WeChat Pay among supported wallets [9](https://www.botim.money/).
  • The botim wallet's own QR codes are a closed, in-app format between botim users and botim money merchants ("Scannable customer QR") [9](https://www.botim.money/)[11](https://astratech.ae/platform-terms/faq/botim-money-wallet/).

Limits. A standard wallet allows AED 25,000 per transaction, per day and per month, with a maximum balance of AED 25,000; users can apply in the app for higher limits [11](https://astratech.ae/platform-terms/faq/botim-money-wallet/).

Fees (schedule effective 4 September 2026, VAT included). Bank transfer, kiosk cash and Aani top-ups are free; card top-ups cost up to 1% (debit or prepaid) or up to 3% (credit). botim-to-botim transfers are free. Sending by Aani or withdrawing to a bank costs AED 2 per transaction up to a monthly threshold, which is the higher of AED 4,000 or the salary, investment proceeds and botim Finance loans credited that month; above it, 1% of the transfer [14](https://astratech.ae/platform-terms/schedule-of-charges.html).

Security. Balance payments need the botim Pay password; card payments need CVV and OTP or in-app authentication [11](https://astratech.ae/platform-terms/faq/botim-money-wallet/). The merchant gateway uses 3-D Secure and AI-based fraud monitoring [9](https://www.botim.money/).

Users & growth

  • PayBy before the acquisition: more than 2 million users and thousands of active merchants, and over AED 600 million in transactions as of May 2022 (press release) [1](https://www.wamda.com/en/2022/08/astratech-acquires-fintech-app-payby).
  • botim (the host app): over 100 million registered users and "an 80% market penetration rate in the UAE" in March 2023 [4](https://newsroom.mastercard.com/news/eemea/en/newsroom/press-releases/en/2023/march/astra-tech-and-mastercard-forge-first-of-its-kind-agreement-to-pave-the-way-for-new-digital-payment-solutions); "over 150 million users globally" in October 2025 [7](https://www.khaleejtimes.com/business/finance/astra-tech-unveils-botim-money-find-all-financial-services-in-one-place). These count calling and messaging users worldwide, not wallet users; the financial services are UAE only.
  • App stores (read 21 Oct 2026): botim had 4.3 stars from 1.21 million reviews and 100M+ downloads on Google Play [19](https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=im.thebot.messenger), and 4.1 from 158,880 ratings on the UAE App Store [18](https://apps.apple.com/ae/app/botim/id1263036818). The separate PayBy app had 4.3 stars from 4,380 reviews and 1M+ downloads on Google Play [17](https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=ae.payby.android.saladin), and 2.9 from 429 ratings on the UAE App Store, last updated 22 April 2026 [16](https://apps.apple.com/ae/app/payby-mobile-payment/id1513907527).

No wallet-only user count or transaction volume has been published since 2022.

Use cases

  • Paying friends and family by phone number, botim to botim (free) or to any Aani-registered bank account [11](https://astratech.ae/platform-terms/faq/botim-money-wallet/)[14](https://astratech.ae/platform-terms/schedule-of-charges.html).
  • Remittances from the UAE to bank accounts, wallets, cash pickup or UPI abroad [12](https://astratech.ae/platform-terms/faq/botim-money-international-transfer/).
  • Card spending with a free virtual prepaid Mastercard in Apple Pay or Google Pay, usable abroad; "no minimum salary or balance is needed" [13](https://astratech.ae/platform-terms/faq/botim-money-botim-prepaid-card/).
  • Credit and savings: Send Now Pay Later, and investments in National Bonds and gold [7](https://www.khaleejtimes.com/business/finance/astra-tech-unveils-botim-money-find-all-financial-services-in-one-place).
  • Merchant acceptance: online gateway (payment links, invoices, recurring payments, in-botim "JSAPI" checkout), Smart POS and Smart BOX terminals, and static QR codes, with no set-up fee and one-day settlement on the standard plan [9](https://www.botim.money/)[10](https://www.botim.money/pricing).
  • Payroll: salary cards and Wage Protection System (WPS) payments for employers [7](https://www.khaleejtimes.com/business/finance/astra-tech-unveils-botim-money-find-all-financial-services-in-one-place)[9](https://www.botim.money/).
  • Inbound tourists paying with Alipay+ wallets in Abu Dhabi taxis and shops [5](https://www.zawya.com/en/press-release/companies-news/astra-tech-and-ant-group-to-launch-first-of-its-kind-alipay-cross-border-digital-payments-solution-in-the-uae-rexr3oav).

Implementations & partners

  • Card network: Mastercard (principal membership, issuing, acquiring and BIN sponsorship) [4](https://newsroom.mastercard.com/news/eemea/en/newsroom/press-releases/en/2023/march/astra-tech-and-mastercard-forge-first-of-its-kind-agreement-to-pave-the-way-for-new-digital-payment-solutions).
  • Cross-border wallets: Alipay+ through Ant Group: Alipay, MPay, Kakao Pay, GCash, TrueMoney and Tinaba at launch [5](https://www.zawya.com/en/press-release/companies-news/astra-tech-and-ant-group-to-launch-first-of-its-kind-alipay-cross-border-digital-payments-solution-in-the-uae-rexr3oav).
  • Domestic rails: Al Etihad Payments' Aani [6](https://thepaypers.com/payments/news/astra-tech-partners-with-al-etihad-payments).
  • Banks: FAB (the site gives only the abbreviation), for virtual accounts that collect cash and cheque deposits through any FAB terminal [9](https://www.botim.money/).
  • Cash-in networks: MBME, MangoPay, iPOS and Mulphico kiosks and POS [11](https://astratech.ae/platform-terms/faq/botim-money-wallet/).
  • Merchants: the Alipay+ launch covered the whole Abu Dhabi taxi fleet (nearly 7,000 cars) and over 3,000 merchants [5](https://www.zawya.com/en/press-release/companies-news/astra-tech-and-ant-group-to-launch-first-of-its-kind-alipay-cross-border-digital-payments-solution-in-the-uae-rexr3oav).

Fun facts

  • PayBy's wallet now lives inside a VoIP app. botim "began as the UAE's first free VoIP calling platform", and the October 2025 redesign aimed to make managing money "feel as natural as messaging a friend" [7](https://www.khaleejtimes.com/business/finance/astra-tech-unveils-botim-money-find-all-financial-services-in-one-place).
  • The old PayBy apps were still in both stores in October 2026, and the botim money website still carries PayBy page titles and payby.com links [16](https://apps.apple.com/ae/app/payby-mobile-payment/id1513907527)[17](https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=ae.payby.android.saladin)[8](https://www.botim.money/about).

Comparison

Both botim money and Tabby Cash are UAE Stored Value Facility wallets run by non-banks inside an app people already use for something else (calls for botim, buy-now-pay-later for Tabby).

botim money (PayBy) Tabby Cash
Host app botim (calls and messaging) Tabby (BNPL and money app)
Licence CBUAE SVF + RPS, Jan 2023 [2](https://thefintechtimes.com/astra-tech-payby-from-uae-central-bank/) CBUAE SVF, Apr 2026 [21](https://tabby.ai/en-AE/newsroom/wallet-licence)
Monthly limit AED 25,000 spend, AED 25,000 balance [11](https://astratech.ae/platform-terms/faq/botim-money-wallet/) AED 25,000 top-up and spend, AED 10,000 a day [20](https://tabby.ai/en-AE/cash)
Local transfers botim-to-botim free; Aani or bank AED 2 up to a threshold, then 1% [14](https://astratech.ae/platform-terms/schedule-of-charges.html) "send and receive money with no fees locally" [20](https://tabby.ai/en-AE/cash)
Card Mastercard prepaid, AED/USD [13](https://astratech.ae/platform-terms/faq/botim-money-botim-prepaid-card/) Visa Cash Card with cashback [20](https://tabby.ai/en-AE/cash)
Who picks it People already on botim who want remittances and a prepaid card with no minimum salary [12](https://astratech.ae/platform-terms/faq/botim-money-international-transfer/)[13](https://astratech.ae/platform-terms/faq/botim-money-botim-prepaid-card/) Tabby shoppers who want cashback on everyday spending [20](https://tabby.ai/en-AE/cash)

Status

Active, renamed. PayBy has traded as botim money since October 2025 [7](https://www.khaleejtimes.com/business/finance/astra-tech-unveils-botim-money-find-all-financial-services-in-one-place). botim money published a new Schedule of Charges effective 4 September 2026 [14](https://astratech.ae/platform-terms/schedule-of-charges.html), and the PayBy iOS app was last updated on 22 April 2026 [16](https://apps.apple.com/ae/app/payby-mobile-payment/id1513907527).

Sources

Source

Biography extracted from botim-money.md. See matrix.md for standards-support matrix if present.

source · content/wallets/botim-money/index.md