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Paymentology And Wio Bank Hope To Transform UAE Banking

Paymentology’s card issuing and analytics will support Wio Bank’s next-generation services.

Published

2 years ago

March 29, 2023

paymentology and wio bank hope to transform uae banking

Paymentology, the world’s first truly global in-cloud card issuing platform, has joined forces with Wio Bank, the UAE’s first platform bank, in a bid to empower local businesses and consumers with modern digital banking solutions.

Wio Bank, launched in September 2022, is focused exclusively on digital and embedded banking services and applications and provides startups, freelancers, and small businesses with seamless access to banking solutions. The company’s Wio Business offering provides a simplified, fully digital business account service with supplementary tools that aid business management.

Wio Bank’s new partner, Paymentology, completes the digital banking puzzle by facilitating a wide range of card services, including Visa debit cards, plus Apple and Google Pay. The cloud-based card issuer also enables Wio developers to view a real-time data feed, providing detailed customer spending insights to help the bank tailor its solutions to the exact needs of local businesses.

UAE businesses have historically relied on brick-and-mortar branches to open accounts and make transactions. With their newly announced partnership, Wio and Paymentology are promising “fast, simplified and fully digital financial services” for small-to-medium businesses in the region.

Also Read: UAE Digital Technology Spending To Hit $20 Billion By 2026

“The UAE is at the forefront of innovation in digital financial services, making huge strides toward becoming a cashless society in the not-too-distant future. We’re incredibly proud of the role we are playing in supporting fintechs achieve their ambitions in the region with increasingly localized, customer-centric, and data-driven propositions,” says Rowan Brewer, CEO at Paymentology.

The latest announcement from Paymentology and Wio Bank comes as the UAE’s financial services sector undergoes a rapid transformation. Consumer demand for digital products and services is on the rise, with research by Visa revealing that 52% of Emirates consumers plan to go cashless by 2024, compared to 41% globally.

Related Topics:FinTech Paymentology United Arab Emirates

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Saudi EV Adoption Accelerates With BYD Expansion & Tesla Launch

Saudi Arabia’s EV market is gaining momentum as BYD plans major showroom growth and Tesla establishes a foothold in Riyadh.

Published

2 days ago

July 16, 2025

Nour Nasir

saudi ev adoption accelerates with byd expansion and tesla launch

Saudi Arabia’s ambitions to become a regional hub for electric mobility are drawing greater investment from global automakers. As part of Vision 2030, the Kingdom is targeting 30% electric vehicle (EV) adoption in the capital, Riyadh, by the end of the decade — an objective that’s now shaping the strategic interests of international EV brands.

Chinese manufacturer BYD is planning a substantial thrust into the Saudi market, building on its current footprint of three showrooms. According to Jerome Saigot, BYD’s managing director in the Kingdom, the company aims to open 10 showrooms by the end of 2026.

“Saudi Arabia is a complex market. You need to go fast. You need to think big,” Saigot recently told reporters. “We are not here to stay at 5,000 or 10,000 cars a year”.

The announcement follows Tesla’s entry into the Saudi EV space, with the US automaker opening its first showroom in Riyadh in April. Tesla joins early players like BYD and Geely in what remains a nascent but strategically important segment for the Kingdom.

The Saudi Public Investment Fund (PIF) has also ramped up its electric mobility agenda. Its efforts include major investments in Lucid Motors, the creation of local EV brand Ceer, and support for the rollout of national charging infrastructure.

Also Read: Twitch Launches Arabic Right-To-Left Interface For Web & Mobile

However, electric vehicles still only account for just over 1% of total car sales in Saudi Arabia, according to data from PwC cited by Bloomberg. Key challenges include high upfront costs, limited public charging access, and the added complexity of operating in extreme heat conditions.

In spite of those hurdles, Saigot views Tesla’s entry as a net positive. “The more Tesla communicates on marketing, the better it is for us,” he said. Saigot joined BYD in April, having previously held executive roles at Nissan and Great Wall Motor.

With multiple brands scaling up activity in parallel — and government-backed infrastructure investment underway — Saudi Arabia’s EV sector appears set for rapid acceleration over the next few years.