Mastercard has partnered with Jeel, a subsidiary of Riyad Bank to foster digital innovation including artificial intelligence (AI) within Saudi Arabia’s non-banking financial institutions (NBFI) sector.
The alliance will unlock access to digital use cases, such as Mastercard Card-as-a-Service (CaaS) and Bank-as-a-Fintech (BaaF) in Saudi Arabia.
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This initiative is claimed to be beneficial for stakeholders by enabling non-banking financial institutions to launch products quickly.
Fintech companies said to benefit from an faster time to market by overcoming challenges related to BIN sponsorship and gaining access to Mastercard’s digital-first issuing assets..
Jeel CEO George Harrak said: “We aim to offer these propositions in several pricing schemes such as pay-as-you-grow subscription, making them as easily accessible as possible — in weeks as opposed to months. Ultimately, we believe this agreement will help support Jeel’s technological advancements in delivering cutting-edge solutions that shape the demand of technology in Saudi Arabia.”
Mastercard EEMEA Product and Engineering executive vice president Gaurang Shah stated: “As part of this mission, we strive to pioneer market-ready services and responsive platforms that cater to consumers’ needs. Our collaboration with Jeel will further enable us to curate an advanced suite of novel solutions that advance the wider ecosystem in Saudi Arabia and beyond.”
Recently, Mastercard collaborated with payment solutions provider Geidea to promote digital payment adoption among SMEs in the UAE.
Using Mastercard Gateway technology, Geidea will provide secure payment solutions that will benefit SMEs by enhancing their ability to accept payments from a wider customer base.
