Mastercard, APS Partner to Boost Digital Payments in MEA
Mastercard and Amazon Payment Services announced a multiyear commercial partnership that will seek to drive the digitalization of payment systems across the Middle East and Africa.
The new program will roll out across strategic markets, such as the UAE, Egypt, Bahrain, South Africa, and six other countries, with the aim of making payment processing easier, faster, and more secure for both merchants and customers.
A Shot in the Arm for Digital Payment Adoption
Under the agreement, Amazon Payment Services will deploy Mastercard’s state-of-the-art payment solution, Mastercard Gateway, a single platform for simplifying the payments process for businesses in 40 markets in the region. The deal will empower all merchants with superior tools and provide a seamless and secure transaction experience. Mastercard Gateway has been engineered to make receiving digital payments way simpler; thus, this makes it even more achievable for merchants to accommodate those customers who use different digital means of making payments.
The adoption of Mastercard Gateway will benefit thousands of APS merchants, including Amazon’s own online stores in the UAE and Egypt. Besides, the partnership opens up new avenues for cooperation with telecom providers and state authorities to further develop digital payment opportunities. This is likely to ensure faster and secure transaction experiences for customers in the region.
Embracing Emerging Payment Methods
Digital payments are on the rise in the MEA region. According to Mastercard’s Payment Industry Insights Index, 95 percent of consumers in the area have considered new, innovative technologies to pay, such as digital wallets, wearables, biometrics, QR codes, and contactless. At the same time, 61 percent of consumers stated that they would avoid doing business with someone if they did not take electronic forms of payment. The increased preference for digital means of making payments is therefore driving demand for merchants and service providers to enhance their infrastructure for digital payment processing.
The partnership between Mastercard and APS is also developing future innovations in further enhancing the checkout experience. That includes developing such solutions as Secure Card on File, Click to Pay, and token authentication services to reinforce security and further facilitate not only the process for the merchant but also for the end-user.
“We’re proud to team up with APS to scale payment acceptance and accelerate the digitization of payments through innovative solutions,” said Amnah Ajmal, Executive Vice President, Market Development for Mastercard in EEMEA. She said this agreement forms part of the ongoing commitment by Mastercard toward building a secure and efficient digital payment ecosystem in the region.
A collaboration like this between Mastercard and Amazon Payment Services will seriously drive the wider adoption of digital payments across the MEA region. It is through this that both firms embrace the latest technologies and a customer-centric approach to position themselves to lead the digitization wave in one of the fastest-growing markets across the world. The companies further expect the partnership to set a new standard for secure and convenient online transactions that would lead to a more cashless future in the region.
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