Mastercard to empower the Kingdom’s ecommerce merchants and consumers with greater choice and innovation

• New solutions will enhance online payment services through Mastercard Payment Gateway Services (MPGS) technology
• MPGS will enable consumer access to a range of benefits including added convenience and faster checkout experiences

Riyadh, Saudi Arabia – 28 February 2023 - Mastercard has announced the launch of new payment flows designed to enhance online payment solutions through the Mastercard Payment Gateway Services (MPGS) technology. The new proposition will be rolled out to local ecommerce merchants with support from key players in the industry such as Amazon Payment Services and Checkout.com.

Among the many benefits to merchants and end-users, Saudi Arabia’s domestic payment network ‘mada’ will include new transaction types that will unlock membership payments, subscriptions, automated bill payment and many other business flows that require payments at regular intervals without the payer presence on the website or app thus enabling quicker checkout experiences for consumers. MPGS will also help the merchants to be compliant with Saudi Payments’ requirements to route all domestic transactions through the domestic payment network, mada.

The new payment flows provide greater access to a range of benefits, including more conveniences, higher approval rates, fewer preventable payment declines to maximize merchant revenue and increase consumer satisfaction​. Additionally, merchants will be provided added peace of mind with reduced risk of fraud, knowing consumer credentials are protected against potential breaches​.

The new solutions will enable merchants to store mada card credentials for use​ in subsequent transactions — a standard for all regular Mastercard debit cards. Merchants will also be able to perform recurring payments and share their order IDs with mada for better reconciliation.

“We are very excited to enhance the effectiveness of our Payment Gateway technology which enables businesses to keep pace with the latest in digital payments by removing complexities from the adoption of new payment technologies. With the launch of these new payment flows, we aim to connect and power an inclusive, digital economy that benefits everyone, everywhere by making payments safe, simple and smart for the people and businesses of Saudi Arabia,” said Maria Medvedeva, Country Business Manager, Saudi Arabia and Bahrain, Mastercard.

“As one of the region’s most trusted online payment gateways, Amazon Payment Services is committed to enabling merchants to do better at their business through simple, secure, and innovative solutions. Leveraging Mastercard’s technology and working alongside Saudi Payments, we are proud to continue playing a key role in facilitating online payments for businesses across Saudi Arabia, and to help foster further economic growth in the Kingdom. The launch of new payment flows will empower merchants by diversifying their payment options, providing greater flexibility and peace of mind, and in turn, enabling them to delight their customers.” said Peter George, Managing Director, Amazon Payment Services, Middle East and North Africa (MENA).

MPGS offers advanced payment processing and fraud prevention technology to merchants, micro-merchants and technology partners that are accepting mada payments.

"As global payments continue to evolve and grow more complex, the launch of these new payment flows sets mada apart as one of the most innovative and fastest growing payment systems in the region. Checkout.com was one of the first payment technical service provider to bring mada to the ecommerce market in 2018 and we are proud to continue supporting this partnership. These solutions will help merchants and consumers to unlock more value from their transactions,” said Remo Giovanni Abbondandolo, Vice President for MENA at Checkout.com. 

The launch of the new payment flows builds on Saudi Payments and Mastercard’s long standing commitment to the Kingdom to enable all local online merchants to accept mada cards as a primary mode of payment on their websites. 

Saudi Payments is the operator of mada payment network, which facilitates all transactions in the Kingdom, one of the biggest economies in the Middle East. The mada network connects all financial transactions from automated teller machines (ATMs) and point-of-sale (POS) terminals throughout the country to a merchant’s bank and the card issuer bank.