Checkout.com has secured a retail payment services license from the Central Bank of the UAE to become the first global payments service provider to be awarded an acquiring license in the country.
Securing an acquiring license allows Checkout.com to unlock its full proposition for merchants in the UAE. This means offering merchant-acquiring solutions, payment aggregation services and cross-border fund transfers. Fundamentally, with direct acquiring Checkout.com now has more control over processing outcomes and can drive best-in-class payment acceptance performance for its merchants.
“The issuance of this license shows the level of trust, commitment and strength of the relationship we continue to have in serving both domestic and international brands to expand in the UAE. We’re proud of the small part we have played to increase the trust in digital payments and allow businesses in the digital economy to thrive,” Guillaume Pousaz, CEO and founder of Checkout.com said in a statement.
The growth of e-commerce in the UAE is forecast to reach a CAGR of 11 per cent, increasing its e-commerce market size to $17 billion by 2025, driven by 91% of consumers in the Gulf state who prefers to make their purchases online.
Checkout.com counts Shahid, Qlub, Carrefour, The Entertainer, Namshi, Mamo, MakeMyTrip, Cafu and Washmen among some of its clients in the UAE.
“We’ve continued to invest in our operations in the UAE to serve several hundred merchants such as Cafu, Talabat, Careem and OSN in the country as we fundamentally believe in the potential of growth in the digital economy here,” said Remo Giovanni Abbondandolo, general manager in MENA for Checkout.com.
With operations in the UK, EEA, MENA, APAC and the USA, Checkout.com has a strong focus on enabling its merchants to expand globally and launch in new markets with speed and minimal effort.
The company has been serving the MENA region since 2014 with offices in both UAE and Saudi Arabia to serve merchants with all major international credit and debit cards – including popular local payment methods such as Tamara, Mada, KNET, QPay, Fawry, OmanNET and Benefit.
