PayTabs Group, the Saudi-based payments company, has agreed to acquire the Middle East and North Africa operations of Amazon Payment Services in a deal valued at more than $100 million. Both companies have approved the transaction.
The deal brings together two established names in regional payments infrastructure and will matter to any UAE or wider MENA business that relies on either platform to process transactions online or in-store.
What PayTabs is buying
Amazon Payment Services, formerly known as PayFort, operates across nine markets in the region and serves more than 3,500 businesses. It supports major global card networks alongside regional payment methods including Mada, Knet and Meeza, giving it deep reach into how consumers actually pay across different MENA markets.
PayTabs itself was founded in 2014 by Abdulaziz Fahad Al-Jouf and has built its business around payment infrastructure such as processing, transaction switching and payouts. Combining that infrastructure with Amazon Payment Services' merchant base and market coverage creates a considerably larger regional payments operator.
The scale of the combined business
Once the transaction is completed, the combined business is expected to process more than SAR150 billion, or roughly $40 billion, in transactions annually. That figure gives a sense of just how much regional commerce now flows through digital payment rails rather than cash, and why control over that infrastructure is increasingly valuable.
For merchants currently using Amazon Payment Services, the acquisition signals continuity of the platform under new ownership rather than a shutdown, since PayTabs is absorbing the operations rather than winding them down. For businesses evaluating payment providers in the UAE and neighbouring markets, it also means one fewer independent option, with PayTabs consolidating a larger share of processing volume under one roof.
Why this deal matters for MENA payments
The acquisition reflects how payment processing across the Middle East and North Africa has become a target for consolidation, as companies seek the scale needed to support merchants operating across multiple countries with different local payment preferences. Mada in Saudi Arabia, Knet in Kuwait and Meeza in Egypt each represent payment habits specific to their markets, and a provider able to support all of them alongside global card networks is positioned to serve multinational and regional merchants without requiring separate integrations.
No details have been disclosed on branding, staffing or timeline beyond the approval of the transaction by both parties. What is clear is the direction: PayTabs is positioning itself as a larger, more comprehensive payments infrastructure provider across the region, built on the combined technology and merchant relationships of both companies.
Businesses in the UAE that currently work with either PayTabs or Amazon Payment Services will likely see more detail emerge as the transaction moves toward completion, particularly around how the two platforms' technology and merchant support are integrated.
