Viya vs PayBy
Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.
Viya
Discover exclusive rewards and experiences across Dubai's top restaurants, leisure destinations, and golf courses. Access a world of offers at cafes, gyms, spas, pools, and private beaches, all within a free-to-download app.
- Lifestyle rewards
- Exclusive offers
- Restaurants and cafes
- Leisure destinations
- Golf courses
- Gyms, spas, pools, beaches
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Viya is Dubai’s lifestyle rewards app, offering residents and visitor’s rewards and experiences across leading restaurants, leisure destinations and golf courses. The Viya app is free to download and provides exclusive access to offers at various locations across Dubai. From restaurants and cafes, to gyms, spas, golf courses, pools and private beaches; Viya provides access to the good life in Dubai. The Viya lifestyle rewards app is part of Wasl Hospitality and Leisure.
PayBy
This app offers a secure and convenient way to make cashless and contactless payments using facial recognition and fingerprint technology. It provides access to discounts, coupons, and loyalty benefits at various merchants, and allows users to manage bank cards, mobile top-ups, and cash transactions without visiting a bank.
- Facial recognition and fingerprint security
- QR code payments
- Cashless and contactless transactions
- Access to coupons and discounts
- Loyalty benefits
- Manage bank cards and mobile top-ups
- Cash in and out functionality
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As an Abu Dhabi-based Fintech company, PayBy is dedicated to meet your various payment needs with the world-class facial recognition and fingerprint technology that guards the security of your funds. Free from the cash-and-carry disorder. Have you ever used QR Code to pay? It’s a cashless, contactless, easy and convenient way to make online and offline payments. All you need is a smartphone and PayBy. Enjoy multiple Coupons & Discounts. Covering high-frequency payment scenarios, including supermarkets, pharmacies, hotels, we offer latest discounts, coupons and exclusive loyalty benefits. Be the first to know and save more with PayBy. More secure and faster access to shop. Guard the security of your shopping with the world-class technology. Only a few simple steps and you are ready to use PayBy. Manage your wallet & finances with higher security. Manage your Bank Card, Mobile Top-up and Cash In & Out without visiting the bank. Save yourself the time, hassle, and cost when managing your finances.
Screenshots
Verdict
The clearest difference is rating: Viya at 4.6 against PayBy's 2.4. Viya also leads on ratings volume (354 vs 10) and review sentiment (30% vs 15%). PayBy's advantage is monetization model (free vs free with in-app purchases) and iOS requirement (11.0 vs 15.0). On price, update cadence, ads and in-app purchases there is nothing between them.
Scored on Price · Rating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings · Update frequency · Ads · In-app purchases · Monetization · Best chart rank · Devices · Requires iOS
Both are free to download. Neither carries in-app purchases, so what you see is what you pay.
Viya holds the better App Store score, 4.6 against 2.4. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: Viya has 354 ratings behind it against 10, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews point the same way: 30% of Viya's written reviews are positive against 15% of PayBy's.
Viya ships an update every 6 weeks, PayBy every 5 weeks. The most recent releases landed on October 27, 2026 and October 24, 2026 respectively.
| Parameter | Viya | PayBy |
|---|---|---|
| Price | Free | Free |
| Rating | 4.6 (354 ratings) — better | 2.4 (10 ratings) |
| Positive reviews | 29.9% of reviews — better | 15.0% of reviews |
| Number of ratings | 354 — better | 10 |
| Update frequency | Every 6 weeks | Every 5 weeks — better |
| Ads | No | No |
| In-app purchases | No | No |
| Monetization | Free with in-app purchases | Free — better |
| Devices | iPhone, iPod | iPhone, iPod |
| Requires iOS | 15.0 | 11.0 — better |
| Further details — not scored | ||
| Size | 129 MB | 139 MB |
| Age rating | 4+ | 17+ |
| Developer | Wasl | Botim Money Technology LLC |
Customer experience
Viya
PayBy
Bugs and requests
Viya
Reported bugs
30 issues- OTP not received via SMS
- OTP not received via email
- App crashes
- App not working
- Registration not possible
Show 25 moreShow fewer
- Login issues
- Spouse pass not working
- Voucher not working
- Payment methods cancel payments
- Unable to connect phone
- Booking system errors
- Cannot change junior golfer status
- Cannot log in
- Verification code never sent
- Passcode won't work
- Endless loop of OTPs
- App requires constant updates
- New version asks for details again
- New version doesn't work
- Invalid mobile number error
- Cannot update info because of OTP code
- Visa card not accepted for payment
- Setting up profile is challenging
- OTP email not received
- OTP doesn't come through
- Blocked from trying features
- Foreign phone numbers not accepted
- Mobile verification code does not work
- Delete account button doesn't work
- OTP arrives hours too late
Requested features
20 requests- Allow spouse pass to work
- Fix OTP issues for registration and login
- Improve customer service responsiveness
- Provide clear and transparent information
- Allow refunds for unused passes
Show 15 moreShow fewer
- Extend points expiry
- Improve venue selection
- Add search function to main page
- Fix booking system errors
- Allow cancellation or changes to bookings
- Add dark mode
- Make delete account button functional
- Allow use of foreign phone numbers for registration
- Improve app usability and navigation
- Fix issues with changing junior golfer status
- Allow easier login with different numbers
- Bring back removed restaurant offers
- Improve payment processing
- Allow updating personal details without OTP issues
- Test app updates more comprehensively
PayBy
Not enough reviews yet to summarise bugs or requests.
In-app purchases
Viya
No in-app purchases
PayBy
No in-app purchases
