Saudi Arabia-based stc pay, a digital wallet and subsidiary of stc Telecom Company, and digital payments firm Visa, have signed a strategic partnership to launch customer-centric financial services and digital payment solutions to stc pay customers.
The new agreement, Visa’s first fintech collaboration in Saudi Arabia, further builds on stc pay and Visa’s alliance from 2018, and will involve issuance of Visa payment credentials to millions of stc pay customers enabling them to use their stc pay digital wallet for contactless, scan-to-pay (QR-based) and e-commerce transactions, and international remittances using the stc pay digital wallet.
Ahmed Alenazi, CEO at stc pay, said: “This global partnership agreement with Visa is significant for stc pay, especially following the granting of our e-money licence. Alenazi explained that partnership helps the company to move steadily towards its ambition of offering new, secure and frictionless financial services and payment solutions to merchants and consumers in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia and beyond. “We are excited to be working with Visa to drive this shared goal of offering innovative solutions to resolve unmet gaps in financial services and digital payments,” he added.
Ali Bailoun, General Manager, Visa for Saudi Arabia, said: “With more people increasingly preferring mobile and online payment options to pay and be paid, and to send and receive money, our partnership with stc pay – leveraging Visa’s scale, experience and expertise both in Saudi and internationally – will help support this growing demand for seamless and secure digital payments.”
Bailoun pointed out that stc pay’s ability to provide innovative services and experiences to its customers and merchants has resulted in the company’s rapid growth over the years. “We are delighted to partner with them on this major initiative and also for this latest opportunity to help drive digital commerce in the Kingdom in line with Saudi Arabia’s Vision 2030 goals,” he remarked.
According to Visa, the partnership with stc pay also underlines its long-term commitment towards supporting the growth and development of fintechs globally, including delivering innovative technologies for consumers, small and medium enterprises (SMEs) and enterprises.