Mastercard and Amazon Payment Services (APS) have entered into a multi-year commercial partnership agreement aimed at digitizing payment acceptance across the Middle East and Africa (MEA). This initiative will cover countries including Bahrain, Egypt, Jordan, Kuwait, Lebanon, Oman, Qatar, South Africa, and the UAE.
As part of this collaboration, APS will integrate Mastercard Gateway—a unified payment processing solution—available in 40 markets throughout the region. This integration will enable merchants to provide fast, seamless, and secure transactions, offering customers a variety of convenient payment options.
In response to the rapid rise in digital payments, this partnership will benefit thousands of APS merchants, including Amazon online stores for customers in the UAE and Egypt. Furthermore, it will create new opportunities for collaboration with entities like telecom companies and government bodies to enhance checkout options, ultimately driving faster and more secure transactions for their customers.
Emerging Payment Methods
According to the Mastercard Payment Industry Insights Index, 95% of consumers in MEA are considering the use of emerging payment methods, such as wearables, biometrics, digital wallets, QR codes, and contactless payments. Additionally, 61% of consumers would avoid businesses that do not accept electronic payments, and banks in the region that have migrated to digital channels have seen the share of digital transactions rise from 70% to 90% over approximately two years.
“We are proud to partner with APS to scale payment acceptance and accelerate digitization of payments with innovative solutions,” stated Amnah Ajmal, Executive Vice President, Market Development, EEMEA, Mastercard.
The two organizations have also signed an innovation agreement to develop services like Secure Card on File, Click to Pay, and token authentication, aimed at providing multi-rail checkout options for merchants and a faster checkout experience for customers.
Peter George, Managing Director of APS for the Middle East & North Africa, expressed enthusiasm about the collaboration, saying, “We are delighted to strengthen our partnership with Mastercard to achieve our common goal of shaping the future of online payments in the region. Implementing Mastercard Gateway will empower us to expand our reach as a PSP and ease the integration burden, as the advanced technology solution is connected to all major acquirers globally.”
