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Wrapping up my week at Seamless Middle East has left me energised, challenged, and full of new ideas. From Day 1 to Day 3, the energy, innovation, and conversations were non-stop and so was the pace of transformation happening across the region.

It was a privilege to connect with so many people driving progress in payments, fintech, and digital infrastructure across the Gulf and beyond. The learnings were sharp, and the signals were clear: the region isn’t just digitising, it’s racing forward on its own terms.

Here are a few standout takeaways from my time on the ground:

◾ Digital Maturity in the UAE and Neighbouring Markets

The UAE often grabs headlines for good reason. It leads with real-time rails (Aani), 300+ active fintechs, and widespread wallet adoption. But the story doesn’t stop there.

• Oman is making bold moves through contactless payments, EMV adoption, and wage digitisation, all backed by strong policy initiatives.
• Saudi Arabia is arguably the most ambitious of all. Its Vision 2030 agenda is already driving over 60% of transactions cashless, with Sarie (instant payments), open banking frameworks, and fintech licensing transforming the landscape.
• Iran, often overlooked, is building a parallel financial system. It runs on Shaparak, its own domestic payment rails, and is increasingly leaning into crypto to navigate international limitations.
• Egypt presents a different kind of opportunity sheer scale. With a massive population, high mobile penetration, and deep financial inclusion gaps, it’s a market where wallets, government digitisation, and local fintechs like Fawry are changing the financial fabric from the ground up.

The region isn’t uniform but that’s the point. Each country is crafting its own playbook. The UAE may have set the benchmark, but it’s no longer running alone.

◾ Are There Really ‘No Fraud’ Issues in the Middle East?

It’s a narrative I often hear echoed from Western voices: “Isn’t fraud low in the Middle East?”

But while payment security is certainly strong thanks to modern tech stacks, strong ID systems, and real-time infrastructure that doesn’t mean fraud has disappeared. It’s just evolving.

In the UAE alone, nearly 50% of consumers report being targeted by digital scams. And across the region, fraud is shifting away from traditional card theft toward social engineering, account takeovers, and first-party misuse.

The market must move from a mindset of “we don’t have fraud” to “we need layered prevention.” That means looking beyond chargeback data and embracing smarter tools and behaviours that detect emerging risks.

◾ The ‘MoneyHash’ Screen of Failed Payments

One of my favourite moments at Seamless was seeing the industry acknowledge a quiet truth: payments still fail… a lot.

In MENA, payment failure rates are reportedly 3x higher than global averages. And it’s not just about approval rates. Think:

• Poor routing logic
• Authentication timeouts
• Soft declines and retry logic failures
• PSP mismatches

Platforms like MoneyHash are tackling this head-on with orchestration layers designed to reduce friction and recover lost revenue. It’s no longer just about capturing payments, it’s about optimising them intelligently.

◾ The Wio Bank Example: Issuing, Reimagined

Wio Bank stood out as a case study in what modern issuing can look like. SMEs in the UAE used to face long onboarding times just to open a business account. Now, Wio offers:

• Fully digital onboarding
• Real-time card issuance (physical and virtual)
• Embedded analytics that help businesses manage spend from day one

Backed by Paymentology, Wio is a glimpse of how infrastructure and customer experience can align and how speed, usability, and data visibility can be built in from the start.

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