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Fintech In The UAE Is Set To Add $900 Per Capita By 2030

The United Arab Emirates will add the highest value to its GDP per capita, followed by Saudi Arabia and Bahrain.

Published

2 years ago

February 13, 2024

Nour Nasir

RMJM

Analysts from UnaFnancial have calculated the value of fintech investment for the Gulf Coast Countries (GCC) in terms of the per-capita increase to GDP using Tracxn data.

In 2022, the United Arab Emirates was a regional leader, with $636.4 (1.01%) in GDP per capita coming from fintech. It was followed by Bahrain with $89 (0.24%) and Saudi Arabia with $75 (0.18%), highlighting the substantial gap between the UAE and its neighbors.

una financial uae fintech gpd per capita

For the GCC region as a whole, the impact of fintech equaled $161 added to the GDP per citizen. Meanwhile, according to UnaFinancial’s forecast, the UAE will still have the highest value of fintech contribution to GDP per capita by 2030, equaling $915.6 (a 44%-increase over 2022). Saudi Arabia is expected to remain in second place but with a massive 650% increase to $561.5. For the GCC region as a whole, fintech will add $506.7 to the GDP per capita by 2030.

Also Read: A Guide To Digital Payment Methods In The Middle East

UnaFinancial’s analysts commented: “In terms of investment in fintech, the UAE makes up 62% of the entire GCC region. This is explained by the level of economic development of the country compared to other countries in the region. The GDP per capita for the population aged 15+ in the UAE equals $63,359, which is almost 4 times higher than the average in the GCC (excluding the UAE). Saudi Arabia and Bahrain are the countries with high average annual growth rates of fintech influence – 182.4%, which exceeds the region’s average by 1.5 times. Meanwhile, Kuwait, Oman, and Qatar are in a transition phase. The average growth rate of fintech influence on the well-being of their citizens equals 166.3% per year. Yet, there are higher investment risks due to lower economic stability”.

Related Topics:FinTech United Arab Emirates

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Samsung And Spotify Offer Free Premium Deal In MENA

Nearly seven in ten streams in the region come from 18-to-34-year-olds — the audience Samsung is hoping to entice into its ecosystem.

Published

5 days ago

August 7, 2026

Nour Nasir

Samsung

Samsung has announced a partnership with Spotify spanning the Middle East, North Africa, and Türkiye, bundling Spotify Premium with select devices across its ecosystem. The headline offer — up to four months of Premium for free — is a first for the region.

Customers in Saudi Arabia, the UAE, and Türkiye who buy any OLED or 98-inch television, or any Galaxy S or Z series mobile device, get four months of Spotify Premium. The offer, tiered by market and device, is available at retail and on Samsung.com, and redeemed through the Samsung Promotion and Samsung Members apps.

For Samsung, the strategy is less about free music than about lock-in. The Korean tech giant’s pitch is continuity: a track starts on a Galaxy smartphone through Galaxy Buds on the commute, moves to a Samsung TV and soundbar in the living room, and stays controllable from a Galaxy Watch. The more seamlessly music travels between those devices, the harder it becomes to swap any one of them for a rival’s.

“Technology should bring people closer to the things they love, and few things connect people the way music does,” said Omar Saheb, Regional VP of Marketing and Online Business at Samsung Electronics MENA. The partnership, he added, gives customers “a genuine reason to choose Samsung for the experience, not only the product”.

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For subscribers, Premium brings the usual package: ad-free listening, offline downloads, richer audio quality on Galaxy Buds and Samsung sound devices, and Jam, which lets friends build a shared queue.

“At Spotify, we are always working to make every listening moment feel more personal, meaningful, and worth it,” said Rami Jamal, Head of Partnerships at Spotify for South Asia, Middle East, and Africa.

The demographics go a long way to explaining the strategy. Across MENA, Türkiye, and Pakistan, nearly seven in ten Spotify streams come from listeners aged 18 to 34, according to the company — precisely the audience Samsung wants inside its hardware ecosystem before buying habits harden.