Saatchi & Saatchi Gulf has partnered with Visa and noon to launch ‘Tap to Tip’, a campaign designed to make it easier for customers in the UAE to tip delivery riders in an increasingly cashless economy.
The initiative uses NFC-enabled stickers placed on participating noon riders’ delivery bags, bike boxes, helmets and uniforms. Customers can simply tap the sticker with their smartphones to access a dedicated tipping page and make a digital contribution.
The idea emerged from the gap between the UAE’s growing reliance on digital payments and the continued use of cash for tipping. According to Visa’s Where Cash Hides study, 80% of payments in the UAE are now made digitally, while 58% of consumers still use cash when leaving tips.
Under the initiative, contributions are collected into a shared pool and distributed among participating noon riders, with riders receiving 100% of the contributions.
Nicolas Geahchan, senior creative director at Saatchi & Saatchi, said, “As digital payments have become the norm, tipping has remained one of the few everyday interactions still dependent on cash. The willingness to give is still there, but the opportunity to act on it is becoming easier to miss. Tap to Tip was designed to solve that in the simplest way possible, using a technology people already know and trust to make generosity easier to act on in the moment.”
Salima Gutieva, vice president and UAE country manager for Visa, said, “Delivery riders play a vital role in our communities, helping people access food, groceries, and everyday essentials wherever they are. Tap to Tip demonstrates how innovation can make it easier to recognise and support the people behind these everyday moments. By simplifying digital tipping, we are creating more opportunities for consumers to show appreciation through fast, secure, and convenient payments while supporting financial inclusion across the digital ecosystem.”
Ali Kafil-Hussain, chief business officer at noon, said, “Our riders are the people our customers see every day, and they deserve to feel recognised for the work they do. Customers have always been able to tip on noon, with 100% of every tip going directly to the rider. Tap to Tip simply makes that appreciation even easier. It’s a small change that gives customers another simple way to say thank you and helps us continue recognising the people behind every delivery.”
The campaign positions a familiar smartphone payment behaviour as a new way of facilitating tipping, while highlighting how brands can use technology to address everyday consumer behaviours.
The initiative is being rolled out across noon’s rider network in the UAE.
