Checkout.com becomes the first global payments platform to secure acquiring license from UCB

With the UAE’s eCommerce market size expected to reach $17Bn^[1] by 2025, and with 91% of domestic shoppers preferring online, Checkout.com is committed to enabling businesses to thrive in the MENA region.

By:Mohamed Badawy

Checkout.com, the global payments service provider, has been granted a Retail Payment Services license from the Central Bank of the United Arab Emirates. This makes Checkout.com the first global payments provider to be granted an acquiring license in the country, further cementing its position as a leader across MENA.

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.

“Our thanks to the Central Bank of the UAE for their approval. 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’ve played to increase the trust in digital payments and allow businesses in the digital economy to thrive,” said Guillaume Pousaz, CEO and Founder of Checkout.com.

“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. It’s why we’re scaling our operations here in the UAE and opened a new office in Media City to house our growing team of close to 100 dedicated local experts,” said Remo Giovanni Abbondandolo, General Manager in MENA for Checkout.com. “Our license enables us to offer superior payment performance for our merchants by having more control over processing outcomes through our powerful platform.”

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. It’s part of Checkout.com’s ‘local globally’ approach to serving international businesses. The business has been serving the MENA region since 2014, with offices in both UAE and KSA to serve merchants with all major international credit and debit cards – including popular local payment methods such as Tamara, Mada, KNET, QPay, Fawry, OmanNET, Benefit and more.

About Checkout.com

Checkout.com is a leading global payment solutions provider that helps businesses unlock more revenue with reliable cross-border payments, local payment methods, dedicated personalized support and deep local expertise. Purpose-built with performance, scalability and speed in mind, our modular payments platform is ideal for merchants looking to take advantage of the exciting growth opportunity in the MENA region.

Launched in 2012, we now have a team of over 2,000 people across 19 offices worldwide – including Dubai and Riyadh – offering local support where it’s needed. We offer all major international credit and debit cards and popular local payment methods, including Tamara, Mada, KNET, QPay, Fawry and more. It’s why innovative brands like Sony, Grab, Deliveroo, Bitoasis, Pizza Hut, Carrefour and Shein all use our cloud-based payments platform. Our on-the-ground presence and understanding of the regional payment ecosystem make us the ideal partner for optimizing your digital payments in MENA and beyond.

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