Technology news and insights in the Middle East, South Asia, and Africa
Technology News and insights in the Middle East, South Asia, and Africa
Pakistan’s digital payments ecosystem is growing rapidly but remains fragile due to transaction failures, regulatory friction, and low trust. Experts say operational fixes, open banking, and better fraud management could improve reliability and confidence without major infrastructure spending.
Mobile apps accounted for 81 percent of Pakistan’s digital transactions in FY2024–25, as digital payments surpassed Rs. 55 trillion in value. Strong growth was also recorded in Raast payments, card usage, and digital banking, highlighting the country’s accelerating shift toward mobile-led financial services.
Only 12% of Moroccans use mobile money, ranking the country among Africa’s lowest adopters, according to Afrobarometer. Regulatory hurdles, reliance on traditional banking, and digital divides have slowed uptake, with continued heavy cash usage highlighting challenges to financial inclusion.
MoneyHash and Mastercard have partnered to expand access to MoneyHash’s Merchant Cloud platform across the Middle East and Africa. The collaboration enables a single API connection to the Mastercard Gateway, improving payment performance, transaction visibility, analytics, and scalability while maintaining high security and reliability standards.
Cash still accounts for over 65 percent of transaction value in Bangladesh despite growth in digital payments and mobile financial services. Central bank data show slow progress toward a cashless economy, with businesses favoring cheques, limited digital acceptance, and MFS largely confined to small-value transfers.
MoneyHash and Mastercard have partnered to expand access to MoneyHash’s Merchant Cloud platform across the Middle East and Africa. The collaboration enables merchants to connect to Mastercard Gateway through a single API, improving payment success rates, streamlining operations, and providing unified analytics while supporting scalable, secure digital growth.
First Abu Dhabi Bank and Mastercard have launched a mobile-first virtual corporate card solution in the UAE, allowing enterprises and government entities to issue and manage virtual cards via mobile wallets. The platform streamlines expense management, enhances security and transparency, and supports real-time payments, reflecting the UAE’s accelerating shift toward digital and contactless B2B payment ecosystems.
Qatar processed over $5.1bn in digital payment transactions in November, driven by strong growth in point-of-sale, e-commerce, and instant payments. Central bank data highlights rising adoption of card-based and mobile payment systems as Qatar continues to digitise its financial ecosystem.
Ottu and Mastercard have partnered to simplify access to local and international payment methods across the GCC using Mastercard Merchant Cloud. The collaboration enables enterprises in Kuwait, Qatar, Bahrain, and Oman to scale efficiently through a single integration, supporting secure, locally relevant, and scalable digital commerce across the region.
Morocco has approved the use of digital payment terminals and prepaid cards for foreign currency exchange, modernising a traditionally cash-based sector. The reform aims to reduce cash circulation, improve transparency, support compliance standards, and facilitate spending by tourists as international payments and cross-border e-commerce continue to grow.