PAYFORT feted as ‘Fintech of the Year’ at The Entrepreneur MENA awards

PAYFORT, the leading online payment service provider in the Arab world, last night (Tuesday, November 8th) received the 'Fintech of the Year' award at the third edition of the prestigious Enterprise Agility Awards held in Dubai by The Entrepreneur MENA magazine. The annual awards recognise businesses and individuals that have distinguished themselves, shown leadership in their sector and outstanding business performance across a variety of industries that are key drivers of respective Middle East’s economies.

"We're delighted to receive the Fintech of the Year award from The Entrepreneur,” said Omar Soudodi, Managing Director of PAYFORT. “Taking your business online hasn't always been easy in the Arab world and PayFort has worked hard to break down the barriers for businesses in the region and accelerate adoption of secure online payment methods. Today, businesses across the region can offer their customers online payment options easily, focusing on customer experience, rather than technology and needless paperwork.”

According to PayFort’s annual State of Payments research, the volume of payments in the Arab world could increase nearly three times by the year 2020 to reach more than US$69 billion of transactions per annum. The region saw a 23 percent increase in online payments last year, led by strong growth in Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates, which showed 40 percent and 24 percent year-on-year growth respectively

Founded in 2013, PayFort makes online payments safe and secure for buyers and sellers in the Arab world, delivering a complete suite of payment solutions that cater to the needs of the region and are tailored to Arab online buying habits and trends.  The company has operations in Egypt, Jordan, Kuwait, Lebanon, Qatar, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates.

PayFort’s solutions allow companies to manage their online payment processes easily and securely so they can focus on improving the customer experience. The company provides the payment platform for the leading e-commerce websites across the Arab world, such as IKEA, EXTRA, Almosafer, Jarir, Air Arabia, souq.com, Yas Island, Landmark Shops, Nile Air, FlyIn, Lynks, Ousta, Eventtus, Dar El Orman, KidZania, Hedeya, Sajilini, eWaseet, Samsung and Charlie Taxi.

PayFort has achieved a number of significant milestones in the company's development this year. PayFort's payment gateway has been certified by the Payment Card Industry Security Standards Council for the third year in a row, achieving the PCI DSS 3.1 status. The company has formed a wide range of new partnerships with financial institutions to expand its services, from introducing bill payments for Saudi consumers via the Kingdom's SADAD Account Payment System, to integrating with MasterCard's Masterpass one-click payment service, in addition to Visa Checkout and Fawry network payments.

PayFort has also introduced new pay-in-installment services to Egypt consumers, in partnership with Commercial International Bank (similar services were already available in Saudi Arabia and the UAE). PayFort has longstanding relationships with banks across the region and supports credit/debit card payment, through globally recognized payment leaders such as American Express, MasterCard, and Visa.

PayFort’s State of Payments in the Arab World report (www.stateofpayments.com), now in its third year, has become the standard reference for payment and ecommerce trends in the region. The annual report offers up-to-date data and insights on the region’s payment trends and consumer buying habits.

PAYFORT offers world-class solutions to allow businesses of all sizes to provide their customers with seamless online payment options. The company’s SME solutions deliver fast, affordable payment services for start-ups and small to medium-sized enterprises, while PAYFORT’s enterprise solutions provide a powerful, next generation payment gateway which allows full optimisation of online payment processes. PAYFORT’s payment services can typically be set-up in just a few hours.