Checkout.com & Tabby Drive BNPL Growth in MENA
Hey Payments Fanatic!
Checkout.com and Tabby have joined forces to expand even more Buy Now, Pay Later (BNPL) solutions in the Middle East. Tabby’s BNPL services will be integrated directly into Checkout.com’s platform, allowing its Saudi Arabian and UAE merchants to offer flexible payment options at checkout.
The partnership comes at an interesting time, as the BNPL market in the region continues to experience rapid growth, with adoption rates reaching up to 62% over the past 12 months.
Checkout.com is a global payments provider that operates across 50+ countries, supports 150+ currencies, and helps businesses optimize transactions while minimizing FX costs. On the other side of the table there’s Tabby, one of the region’s prominent BNPL players, recently secured $160M in funding at a $3.3Bn valuation.
According to Abdulaziz Saja, KSA General Manager, Tabby, this partnership will allow Checkout.com’s businesses in the region “access to Tabby’s +15 million high-intent shoppers while offering their customers greater flexibility at checkout.”
Remo Giovanni Abbondandolo, Checkout.com’s MENA General Manager, highlights that there’s an impressive growing demand for flexible payment options in the region, stating that “in the past 12 months, popularity of BNPL remained a preferred payment method for online shoppers in the UAE and Saudi Arabia with adoption rates reaching 39% and 42% respectively. Moreover, with an 80% increase in daily online shopping since 2020, consumers are eager to adopt new payment solutions”.
If you’re interested in reading a bit about what’s been happening in Payments, keep scrolling!
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GOLDEN NUGGET
The Road to GenAI in Payments — everything you need to know 👇
𝐓𝐡𝐞 𝐃𝐞𝐟𝐢𝐧𝐢𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧:
► 𝐆𝐞𝐧𝐞𝐫𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐯𝐞 𝐀𝐈 (#GenAI) is a groundbreaking technology that embeds intelligence at every layer of financial services, transforming core banking functions, payments, fraud detection, and customer experiences.
► Unlike traditional AI models, GenAI works with both structured and unstructured data, making banking systems more predictive, interactive, and automated.
► 97% of banks have already adopted a GenAI strategy, but scaling it enterprise-wide remains a challenge due to regulatory hurdles and legacy infrastructure.
𝐀 𝐍𝐞𝐰 𝐄𝐫𝐚 𝐢𝐧 𝐁𝐚𝐧𝐤𝐢𝐧𝐠: The GenAI Impact on Payments
► Payments are no longer just a back-office function; they are now a strategic advantage for businesses.
► GenAI is reshaping the payments landscape by enabling:
✔ Conversational checkout experiences (AI-driven assistants for seamless transactions)
✔ Automated transaction processing (reducing manual intervention & errors)
✔ Enhanced fraud detection (real-time anomaly detection)
✔ More personalized payment journeys (AI-powered recommendations & insights)
► With real-time payments becoming faster and more complex, banks need AI-driven automation to process transactions 30-40% faster and reduce errors by 70%.
𝐓𝐡𝐞 𝐈𝐦𝐩𝐚𝐜𝐭 𝐨𝐟 𝐆𝐞𝐧𝐀𝐈 𝐢𝐧 𝐏𝐚𝐲𝐦𝐞𝐧𝐭𝐬
🔹 𝐅𝐫𝐨𝐧𝐭-𝐄𝐧𝐝 𝐁𝐞𝐧𝐞𝐟𝐢𝐭𝐬:
✔ More streamlined checkout processes (i.e., AI-powered conversational checkout) – 44%
✔ Improved customer support & engagement – 44%
✔ More personalized transaction experiences – 41%
🔹 𝐁𝐚𝐜𝐤-𝐎𝐟𝐟𝐢𝐜𝐞 𝐁𝐞𝐧𝐞𝐟𝐢𝐭𝐬:
✔ Optimization of working capital decisions through better insights – 49%
✔ More accurate cash flow forecasting – 41%
✔ More efficient fraud detection & prevention – 41%
✔ Enhanced real-time analytics & reporting – 36%
✔ Stronger security measures – 21%
𝐑𝐞𝐠𝐢𝐨𝐧𝐚𝐥 𝐀𝐩𝐩𝐫𝐨𝐚𝐜𝐡𝐞𝐬 𝐭𝐨 𝐆𝐞𝐧𝐀𝐈 𝐢𝐧 𝐏𝐚𝐲𝐦𝐞𝐧𝐭𝐬, while GenAI adoption is global, priorities differ by region:
🌎 𝐔𝐒 & 𝐀𝐏𝐀𝐂:
► Focused on using GenAI for competitive advantage, with 53% of US and 54% of APAC banks prioritizing AI to differentiate in the market.
🇪🇺 𝐄𝐮𝐫𝐨𝐩𝐞:
► Primarily focused on operational efficiency, with 48% of banks leveraging AI to streamline workflows and optimize internal processes.
🇮🇳 𝐈𝐧𝐝𝐢𝐚:
► GenAI is being deployed for straight-through processing (STP) of payments, reducing manual intervention in high-volume transactions (83% adoption).
🌎 𝐋𝐀𝐓𝐀𝐌:
► Focused on streamlining payment operations, addressing inefficiencies and improving financial inclusion.
Source: NTT DATA
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