Enterprise Ecosystems

Enterprise Ecosystems

Mastercard announces major deals in Saudi Arabia and UAE

Payment giant Mastercard is back in the news in the Middle East this week thanks to a major artificial intelligence-related deal in Saudi Arabia and an SME-focused agreement in the UAE.

In Saudi Arabia Mastercard and Jeel — a subsidiary of Riyad Bank — are joining forces to enable digital and cutting-edge solutions such as AI to drive innovation.

The collaboration will see the two entities work together to serve all non-banking financial institutions (NBFI) market segments. This will provide seamless access to new digital use cases, such as Mastercard Card-as-a-Service (CaaS) and Bank-as-a-Fintech (BaaF) propositions, to Saudi Arabia.

Jeel says it aims to offer these propositions in several pricing schemes such as pay-as-you-grow subscription, making them as easily accessible as possible — in weeks as opposed to months. 

This collaboration, the partners say, will bring benefits to a wide range of stakeholders. It empowers non-banking financial institutions to bring innovative products to the market swiftly and efficiently with greater ease and peace of mind, while fintech companies can expect faster time to market by solving obstacles like BIN (bank identification number) sponsorship (a financial arrangement that allows a business to access a regulated financial institution's payment environment). It also eases access to Mastercard digital first issuing assets. 

In the UAE, meanwhile, licensed fintech company Geidea has entered a strategic partnership with Mastercard designed to accelerate digital payment adoption among small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) in the UAE by enabling them to accept payments via Mastercard Gateway.

This integration will simplify payment processes for online merchants, allowing them to offer their customers a faster, more secure, and seamless transaction experience.

Geidea will leverage the Mastercard Gateway technology to offer comprehensive and secure payment solutions. This partnership is especially beneficial to SMEs, enabling them to easily accept payments from customers across the region. Mastercard Gateway offers advanced payment processing and fraud prevention technology to acquiring banks, merchants, micro-merchants, and technology partners.

The integration of Mastercard’s technology with Geidea’s platform will also introduce advanced features, such as Card on File, recurring payments and enhanced fraud prevention capabilities. 

By offering a secure, centralised payment platform that integrates seamlessly with Mastercard Gateway, the partners say, this collaboration is set to benefit thousands of SMEs in the UAE.



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