Mastercard Drives Digital Payment Growth in MENA Region

Mastercard formed three strategic partnerships with FinTech companies LikeCard, CredibleX, and Al Etihad Payments. This initiative aims to advance digital payments in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region.

Muhammad Nana on X

Mastercard, a global payment network and multinational financial corporation, announced three strategic partnerships in the MENA region within a few days.

As part of the first partnership, Mastercard launched a family banking solution in collaboration with payment infrastructure provider LikeCard, a subsidiary of the Central Bank of the UAE (CBUAE). The companies plan to create a banking solution that enables parents in Egypt, Saudi Arabia, and the UAE to manage their children’s spending through prepaid cards. The new system will feature a mobile app allowing parents to set limits and track expenses while helping children develop financial literacy.

According to Muhammad Nana, Senior VP for Digital Partnerships and Enablers at Mastercard in the EEMEA region, this collaboration is focused on fostering responsible financial behavior among young people by offering flexible budgeting tools. Ammar Alsoos, CEO of LikeCard, added that the solution will provide convenient and transparent payments, helping families manage their finances more effectively.

Mastercard’s second partnership is with lending platform CredibleX. Through this collaboration, Mastercard’s expertise will be used to launch a credit analytics solution tailored for small and medium-sized enterprises (SME) in the UAE. The initiative aims to streamline loan access for entrepreneurs and enhance their financial resilience.

Selin Bahadirli, EVP of Services at Mastercard in the EEMEA region, emphasized that the new solution will simplify SME financing by offering transparent and flexible credit conditions. Hassan Reda, Co-Founder and Chief Product Officer of CredibleX, noted that the partnership will accelerate SME loan approvals, improving access to capital and supporting business growth in a competitive market.

Another strategic partnership is formed with Al Etihad Payments (AEP), a subsidiary of CBUAE that manages the national UAESWITCH service, connecting ATM networks across UAE banks, and the state-backed card scheme Jaywan. Under this collaboration, Jaywan-Mastercard debit and prepaid cards will be issued.

J.K. Khalil, Division President for Mastercard in East Arabia, stated that the initiative aims to modernize the UAE’s payment infrastructure and expand access to digital financial services. H.E Saif Humaid Al Dhaheri, Assistant Governor for Banking Operations and Support Services at CBUAE and Chair of Al Etihad Payments, added that the partnership is designed to accelerate payment digitalization in the region and enhance financial inclusion.

The MENA region is a priority for Mastercard’s financial digitalization strategy. Previously, the payment giant joined the Buna regional cross-border payment system, established by the Arab Monetary Fund (AMF), and began working on optimizing B2B payments in the UAE and Saudi Arabia.