What e-wallet options are available for Middle East payments?

The e-payments market in the Middle East has grown rapidly in recent years, and here are the main e-wallet and mobile payments options in the region, organised by country/region:

Mainstreaming Options for Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) Countries

1. Apple Pay & Google Pay

• Full regional coverage, especially popular with young people and expatriates

2. STC Pay(Saudi Arabia)

• Under Saudi Telecom, with over 8 million subscribers
• Supports international remittances and local payments

3. BenefitPay(Bahrain)

• Instant Payment System Supported by the Central Bank of Bahrain
• High popularity of QR code payment

4. Fawry(Egyptian-led, extended to UAE)

• Representatives of the Middle East "super apps"
• Provides 400+ services such as bill payment and e-commerce settlement

5. Beam Wallet(UAE)

• Etisalat Telecom Group launches
• NFC mobile phone top-up function is outstanding

6. Mada Pay(Saudi Arabia)

E-wallets in the Middle East (continued)

7. Mainstream e-wallets in the United Arab Emirates (UAE)

• PayBy
  • Digital payment platform approved by the UAE Central Bank
  • Support mobile number transfer, QR code payment and online shopping
• Careem Pay(Integration with Ride-hailing application Careem)
  • Owned by Uber, it offers taxis, takeaways and P2P money transfers
• YAP (by RAKBANK)
  • UAE's first standalone digital banking app with support for Visa card binding and international money transfers

8. Saudi Arabia (KSA) localisation options

• UrPay
  Launched by Saudi Arabia's homegrown fintech company, it supports instant money transfers and cross-border payments.
• Saudi Digital Wallet (SARIE)
  The Central Bank of Saudi Arabia launched the National Instant Payment System, which connects all bank accounts.

9. Qatar & Kuwait (Qatar & Kuwait) main options

• Qatar's Ooredoo Money / Vodafone Cash M-Pesa (similar to the M-Pesa model)
  Telecom operator-led mobile wallet for the unbanked.
• Kuwait's KNET
  Government-supported nationwide digital payment network widely used for POS and online transactions.

📌 Emerging Trends:

1. "Buy Now Pay Later" (BNPL): e.g. Tabby (UAE/Saudi Arabia), Tamara are growing rapidly in the Middle East.
2. Islamic finance compliance: Some of the e-wallets meet the requirements of the Sharia Law.
3. cross-border interconnection: GCC countries are promoting cross-regional payments integration.

If specific usage or regulatory policy details are needed for a particular country, they can be explored further!