Areeba, a financial technology company in Lebanon said in statement that false news has been circulated through social media networks related to the electronic payment service that Areeba provides to the Ministry of Public Health for PCR tests to passengers arriving at Rafic Hariri International Airport.

The statement said: “We are delighted to clarify that Ministry of Public Health has adopted a new mechanism for conducting PCR tests for arrivals at Rafic Hariri International Airport through electronic payment, and it has received offers from several companies and banks working in this field in Lebanon, but the choice fell on “Areeba”, which presented the best offer in terms of costs and techniques.”‎

It added: “Areeba is a leading company in the electronic payment field in Lebanon, Jordan, the United Arab Emirates, Iraq, Qatar and Egypt. It has seven competitors in Lebanon that provide similar services. It adopts the highest standards of compliance in line with local and international laws.”

Areeba said: “On January 7, we started providing the electronic payment service to the Health Ministry, which allows collecting the value of the PCR tests through electronic payment cards, at the price of the operational cost, which ranges between 1.5% and 3%, depending on the type of card. This commission is recognized locally and globally and is paid to Visa and Mastercard and to the issuing bank of the card. This has required clarification.”