According to the new Boston Consulting Group (BCG) report “Global Payments 2022: The New Growth Game,” payment revenues in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) are expected to reach $18.7 billion by 2031.

Wio, a state-backed digital bank, has been given the go-ahead to launch in UAE which in the beginning will focus on small and medium enterprises with a goal of public listing in the future. Wio is held by the Abu Dhabi sovereign wealth fund ADQ, Alpha Dhabi, and Etisalat, to 65%, 25%, and 10%, respectively. It received initial authorization to start operations from the UAE central bank in February.

FOO, a B2B Fintech solutions provider in the MENA region, has begun to expand operations into the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia to support the country’s digital transformation efforts.

Rowan Brewer, CEO at Paymentology, said: “Banks and fintechs are racing to provide customers with digital and data-driven features. They are highly receptive to working with a single issuer-processor that can provide that, across the globe. People want to be able to pay with a virtual card – sometimes online, sometimes tapping their phone –but everything, digitally. “

Ashar Nazim, MD of Spire Technologies, said that “changing the way banks and fintechs run their businesses. With the aim of achieving an Open Economy, all business and customers alike will see the benefits from services like this. We thank the CBB and the Economic Development Board for their continued support in Bahrain’s Regulatory Sandbox.”