The payments landscape in MENA is changing fast. If you're a merchant looking to expand in the Middle East, understanding what's happening in the UAE and Saudi Arabia matters for your bottom line.
The MENA Payments Landscape: Growth That Can't Be Ignored
The MENA digital payments market reached USD 248.35 billion in 2025 and is expected to grow at 11.10% annually to hit USD 420.38 billion by 2030. But numbers don't tell the whole story. Let's take a deeper look at the payment landscape across individual countries in the region.
UAE Payments Landscape: Where Innovation Meets Reality
The UAE is building one of the world's most advanced payment infrastructures. The country has invested heavily in creating payment systems that work seamlessly across digital and physical channels. Two recent launches: Jaywan and Aani show how serious the UAE is about building world-class payment infrastructure.
Aani: Instant Payments Made Simple
Aani is the UAE's instant payment platform that enables real-time money transfers for peer-to-peer, person-to-business and business-to-business payments. Launched in October 2023, Aani lets customers transfer up to AED 50,000 instantly using just a mobile number, email, or QR code. The platform reached 1.5 million users quickly and captured 28% of domestic transfers within six months.
For merchants, Aani means instant settlement. This means reduced settlement cycles. Customers can pay immediately, improving cash flow and reducing payment friction.
Jaywan: UAE's Domestic Card Scheme
Jaywan is the UAE's first domestic card scheme, launched in 2024 by Al Etihad Payments (a Central Bank of UAE subsidiary). Think of it as the UAE's answer to MADA in Saudi Arabia or Visa internationally. Jaywan offers debit, prepaid, and credit cards that work locally and can be co-badged with international networks like Visa, Mastercard, or UnionPay for global acceptance.
This means lower processing fees for merchants compared to international card networks. As Jaywan adoption grows, accepting Jaywan cards will become increasingly important for UAE-based businesses.
Soaring Growth of Digital Wallets
Digital wallets are taking over. Digital wallet usage in the UAE's online retail is set to rise to 42% by 2027, overtaking credit cards. It becomes crucial for merchants to accept Apple Pay, Google Pay, or local solutions like Careem Pay.
What UAE Merchants Must Know
Contactless is standard for POS transactions. There is a high adoption of contactless payments for POS transactions in the UAE and the consumers expect merchants to accept contactless payments
Cross-border matters. 17% of Visa's purchase volume in the UAE in 2024 was from international sellers. Merchants need to make sure their payment system can process multiple currencies without friction.
Seasonal spikes are real. Ramadan, Eid, and Black Friday drive massive transaction volumes. Merchants need to ensure their payment infrastructure is capable of handling these surges.
Saudi Arabia's Payments Landscape: Vision 2030 in Action
Saudi Arabia is moving even faster. Saudi Arabia reached 79% non-cash retail transactions by Q1 2025, surpassing Vision 2030's interim 70% goal. The government isn't just encouraging digital payments, they're building the ecosystem.
SARIE Changes Everything
SARIE (Saudi Arabia Riyal Interbank Express) is the Kingdom's instant payment system that enables real-time money transfers. Launched in February 2021, it processed 463 million transfers worth SAR 3.2 trillion in 2024, up 42% year-on-year. Currently, SARIE is used for Peer-to-peer, Person-to-business & Business-to-business payments.
MADA's Dominance
MADA is Saudi Arabia's national payment scheme and the local debit & prepaid card network. Think of it as Saudi Arabia's version of Visa or Mastercard, but specifically for the Kingdom. MADA holds a 93% market share in card payments in Saudi Arabia. Any merchant operating in the Kingdom, be it online or offline, needs to accept MADA cards.
Payment Methods Shaping the MENA Landscape
Understanding which payment methods to support directly impacts your conversion rates. Different payment methods serve different transaction types across the region.
A Breakdown of Payment Methods by Transaction Type
Point-of-Sale (POS) Transactions: Physical stores see high adoption of contactless cards and digital wallets. In the UAE and Saudi Arabia, tap-to-pay with Apple Pay, Google Pay, and local wallets dominates urban retail. Qatar leads with 96% of in-store transactions now contactless. Local card schemes like MADA, Jaywan, and KNET are essential for POS acceptance.
Peer-to-Peer (P2P) Transfers: Real-time payment platforms dominate here. Consumers use Aani in UAE, SARIE in Saudi Arabia, Fawran in Qatar, and MPCSS in Oman for instant money transfers to friends and family. Digital wallets like STCPay, Careem Pay, and BenefitPay also handle significant P2P volume.
Person-to-Business (P2B) Payments: This is where merchants need the most flexibility. Customers expect to pay with their preferred method, whether cards, wallets, BNPL, or real-time transfers. E-commerce particularly benefits from offering multiple options. The most successful merchants support local card schemes, digital wallets, BNPL methods and RTPs simultaneously.
Digital Wallets Lead
Digital wallets are the fastest-growing payment method. Major players include Apple Pay, Google Pay, STCPay (Saudi Arabia's local digital wallet with 10 million users), Careem Pay (strong in UAE), and emerging options in Qatar and Oman.
Real-Time Payments Become Standard
Account-to-account real-time transaction values across MENA are forecasted at 17% CAGR through 2027. For merchants, this means faster settlement and better cash flow.
Each major market has launched its own real-time payment platform:
Beyond the UAE's Aani and Saudi Arabia's SARIE covered earlier, other MENA markets have launched their own instant payment platforms:
Qatar - Fawran: Qatar Central Bank launched Fawran in March 2024. The platform processed QR 10.1 billion (USD 2.8 billion) in its first 14 months and recorded 5.5 million transactions by May 2025. Users can send money using mobile numbers, IBAN, or alias names instead of full bank details. Fawran works with Qatar Mobile Payment (QMP), the national mobile payment system that connects all licensed payment providers.
Oman - MPCSS: The Mobile Payments Clearing and Switching System saw explosive growth, with volumes surging over 300% and transaction values reaching RO 3.4 billion in 2024. MPCSS enables instant person-to-person payments up to RO 500 using mobile numbers, alias names, or QR codes. It's truly interoperable, you can send money between different banks and payment providers instantly.
These platforms aren't just convenient, they change business fundamentals. When customers pay you instantly, your working capital improves. You can offer instant refunds. Cash flow becomes predictable. For merchants dealing with B2B payments or recurring transactions, these real-time rails are game-changers.
The BNPL Boom
The use of BNPL payments in the UAE and Saudi Arabia skyrocketed by 200% between July and August 2024. Companies like Tamara and Tabby have grown to around 10 million users each across the GCC.
Offering BNPL can be the difference between a completed sale and an abandoned cart. Consumers want flexibility.
Cards Still Matter
Cards remain crucial for higher-value transactions and older demographics. But here's what many merchants miss: local card schemes.
MADA (Saudi Arabia): The national payment scheme with 93% market share in card payments. Any merchant in the Kingdom must accept MADA. Non-negotiable.
Jaywan (UAE): Launched in 2024, it's the UAE's first domestic card scheme offering debit, prepaid, and credit cards. Lower processing fees than international networks make it attractive for merchants.
KNET (Kuwait): Kuwait's dominant card network where nearly 80% of all online transactions are made via KNET cards, and out of 5 million issued cards, 80% are debit cards branded with KNET. Essential for any merchant targeting Kuwait.
BENEFIT (Bahrain): The leading payment method in Bahrain with 70% of 1.5 million issued cards being debit cards mandated to carry the BENEFIT brand. Also offers BenefitPay, a wallet solution gaining traction.
Qi Card (Iraq): Iraq's national debit card with about 9 million card users, established by the country's two largest state-owned banks. Qi Card serves over 11 million cardholders and has been instrumental in increasing Iraq's banked population from 5% to over 40%.
These local schemes are often the primary payment method in their markets. International cards like Visa and Mastercard remain important for certain demographics, but ignoring local schemes means missing the majority of domestic transactions.
What's Driving This Change?
Government push: Saudi Arabia's Vision 2030, Dubai's Cashless Strategy, and Qatar's National Vision 2030 prioritize digital payments.
E-commerce boom: E-commerce GMV in MENA expanded 30% in 2024. More online shopping demands better payment options.
Young populations: MENA has one of the world's youngest populations. Digital natives expect seamless payments.
Practical Steps for Merchants
1. Support Local Payment Methods - Accept MADA in Saudi Arabia. Integrate local wallets. Give customers options they actually use.
2. Implement Multiple Wallets - Support Apple Pay, Google Pay, and dominant local wallets. Each adds percentage points to your conversion rate.
3. Offer BNPL Options - Enable buy now pay later options like Tamara or Tabby. BNPL drives conversions.
4. Optimize for Mobile - Test your payment flow on multiple devices. Make it fast and simple. Every extra step costs conversions.
5. Plan for Seasonal Peaks - Ramadan, Eid, and Black Friday drive major spikes. Your infrastructure needs capacity for these surges.
6. Prioritize Security - Ensure utmost security while building your payments stack. Store your customer’s card details in a PCI compliant vault.
Getting Started in MENA
The payments landscape in MENA offers enormous opportunities. The region is digitizing faster than almost anywhere else, supported by young populations, government initiatives, and infrastructure investment.
Success requires understanding local preferences, supporting region-specific methods, optimizing for mobile, and building trust through security. For merchants, it has become ever so crucial to accept multiple payment methods. But integrating multiple payment methods comes with a huge cost and often requires a lot of time to integrate. This is where Juspay steps in.
Juspay stands at the forefront of payment technology, enabling seamless transactions for merchants and banks across the globe. Building on deep expertise in payment experience design and orchestration, Juspay delivers scalable and resilient infrastructure that helps global enterprises optimize every layer of their payment stack.
Handling over 300 million transactions every day with 99.999% uptime and an annualized GMV surpassing $1 Trillion, Juspay empowers businesses to:
- Maximize payment success and acceptance rates
- Strengthen security and minimize fraud
- Lower overall processing costs
- Deliver frictionless customer experiences at scale
Trusted by global giants including Amazon, Google, Microsoft, Visa, Mastercard, and American Express, Juspay unifies payment orchestration and global reach, simplifying complexity, increasing conversions, and powering secure, effortless digital transactions.
