Global Processing Services (GPS), the Paytech Pioneer behind major Fintech challengers, reveals that it has established its MENA region office and hired payments professional, Arnav Rath, as Head of Region.
Based in Dubai, the team will focus on leveraging its international reach and payments expertise to help financial services providers scale, “both throughout the region and beyond, whilst delivering local expertise and partnership.”
As mentioned in a release, GPS has to-date issued more than 170 million cards and last year processed over 1.3 billion transfers via its platform – “a testament to its … position as a global payments processing powerhouse behind over 180 next-generation fintechs, including Revolut, Curve, and Paidy.”
The Paytech Pioneer™ will be looking to “support established financial institutions and startups across key verticals including digital banking and remittances, Buy Now Pay Later, expense and payroll management, youth banking, financial empowerment and more, and is in active engagement with the largest banks in the region,” the update noted.
The release also mentioned that the news of the launch comes at a time when the adoption of alternative payment methods is “gaining ground and the number of digital payment transactions growing twice as rapidly than that of Europe’s.” The MENA region Fintech sector is also on track to be valued at $3.45 billion by 2026, the announcement revealed.
Helping GPS to realize its vision in the region is Rath, “who joins GPS from Majid Al Futtaim (MAF), one of the region’s largest conglomerates, where he headed up its prepaid cards and payments business across the Middle East.”
During his time working at MAF, he also “led innovative payments solutions by offering end-to-end programme management to cater to the wider fintech landscape, including the UAE, Bahrain, Egypt and others.”
Rath brings nearly two decades of professional experience in the Cards as a Service (CaaS) and Payments as a Service (PaaS) spaces and will “help GPS augment its offering in the region.” As part of the role, Rath will “leverage his in-depth local knowledge in combination with GPS’ global expertise to build partnerships with regulators, innovative banks, Fintechs and ecosystem partners across key markets including the UAE, Egypt, Saudi, and more.”
Rath stated:
“It’s incredibly exciting to be joining GPS and building on its longstanding reputation as a trusted and proven global payments processor at what is ultimately an inflection point for the MENA region’s fintech ecosystem. Through the flexibility of GPS’ platform, its robust suite of products can be configured and tailored to the needs of specific groups, including the 68% of adults in the region who remain unbanked. I am looking forward to working with financial institutions, banks, regulators fintechs and ecosystem partners as we grow GPS’ position as the key enabler in the fintech ecosystem and a reliable provider of greater and improved access to financial services.”
Joanne Dewar, CEO at GPS, remarked:
“We’re delighted to officially launch our presence in MENA, further expanding our global reach, and are excited to have Arnav lead our GPS team here as we expand our presence across the region. His unparalleled experience of payments in the GCC, having worked with some of the biggest players in the region, is key as we look to share our knowledge, experience and success around the world – forging new, strong partnerships with all regional ecosystem players in the weeks, months and years to come.”
