Amazon Payment Services, a regional leader in digital payments operating across the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) with a mission to empower online businesses with a simple, affordable, and trusted payment experience, addressed an audience of fintech innovators and business leaders at Seamless Saudi Arabia 2022 to share insights into the evolution of cashless payments in Saudi Arabia. Amazon Payment Services’ participation as a Platinum Sponsor at Seamless Saudi Arabia is in line with its commitment to engaging with the fintech and business communities in the Kingdom.
A holistic payments solution, Amazon Payment Services supports merchants beyond payments through its extended services portfolio, advanced technologies, value-added services and a strong and growing network of partners throughout the region. Combining intimate knowledge of markets across MENA with Amazon’s global expertise, Amazon Payment Services has driven innovation in the payments sphere to facilitate millions of secure transactions across the region to date.
In a presentation titled “Reimaging Payments for Today’s Saudi Consumer”, Mona Alsemayen, Country Head for strategy and growth in Saudi Arabia of Amazon Payment Services, highlighted how Saudi Arabia’s Vision 2030 and a strong infrastructure for the digital economy in the Kingdom has been a catalyst for growth in the digital payments sphere across multiple industry verticals, with cashless payments overtaking cash for the first time in 2021 to represent 62% of transactions across all sectors.
“As a result of government initiatives and industry trends, Saudi Arabia has shown a rapid evolution of digital payment and lending methods over the past few years, making the country a hotspot for Fintech players and banks that are open for development and cooperation. Today’s Saudi consumer wants choice, convenience, speed and security, but above all, they want a smooth, seamless payments experience that mirrors their day-to-day online interactions. Keeping the customer at the core of our focus and working backwards to address their needs, Amazon Payment Services is partnering with the government, merchants and the financial sector to advance the payments experience in Saudi Arabia,” Alsemayen said.
Also contributing to the discussion at Seamless Middle East 2022, Mohamed Imtiyaz, Head of Business Development, Amazon Payment Services, participated in a keynote panel on the topic of “Pioneering the next generation of online retail with a ‘one-stop shop’ marketplace,” in which he highlighted how the digital marketplace of tomorrow is an interconnected landscape where different payment methods merge and overlap, helping to establish a seamless and fully embedded use case for all stakeholders.
“Online marketplaces are increasingly looking for payment service providers which provide a seamless payment infrastructure in addition to offering added value by increasing checkout conversion with a wider choice of affordable payment options like BNPL and instalments. At the same time, they are looking to increase their reach by tapping into the vast opportunities offered by digitally native Gen Z and millenial consumers,” Imtiyaz said.
Among the key solutions Amazon Payment Services displayed at Seamless Saudi Arabia 2022 was Installments, a highly targeted and tailored solution that breaks down large purchases into easy monthly payments that is proven to increase sales by 10-15% across average basket sizes, and rounded holistic solutions such as PrivateLink, a multi-solution product designed to increase security, improve the payment experience and success rate, and reduce data egress costs for merchants.
