Mastercard has entered a long-term strategic collaboration with areeba, a leading payment processing (PPs) service provider in the Middle East (ME), to bring new Mastercard Card-as-a-Service (CaaS) and Bank-as-a-Fintech (BaaF) propositions to their markets.
Industry sources further added that this enablement program will be offering Mastercard products and services to fintech firms and non-banking financial institutions by building ready-to-market hubs in selected Arab countries, spanning from Levant to North Africa.
Gaurang Shah, Executive Vice President, Product and Engineering, Eastern Europe, Middle East and Africa, Mastercard commented on the partnership stating “At Mastercard, we view payment modernization as one of the top priorities in providing market-ready services and platforms that help deliver innovative offerings to consumers.”
Mr. Shah added “We streamline dependencies by offering out-of-the-box digital solutions that can be implemented at a fast pace and following local regulations and compliance mandates. With its strong technical capabilities and digital-ready enablement, areeba is our ideal strategic processing services partner in the Arab world.”
Maher Mikati, CEO, of Areeba, stated “Our partnership with Mastercard will provide new market segments and demographics access to Mastercard products, services, and relevant benefits. These will be available as light-touch, off-the-shelf propositions with subscription and pay-as-you-grow pricing schemes that can be launched in weeks instead of months. We are proud to contribute to advancing payment solutions in the countries where we operate and in partnership with Mastercard.”
Industry sources further added that this partnership will offer a lot of benefits to a wide range of stakeholders. Financial institutions will be able to introduce new products to the market without worrying about technology and business operations readiness. Industry sources also added that Fintech companies can expect faster time to market by solving obstacles of BIN sponsorship and Mastercard digital first issuing assets access, through Areeba.
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