Mastercard has expanded Mastercard Instalments, its unique and innovative Buy Now, Pay Later (BNPL) programme that delivers greater choice at checkout, both in-store and online, in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) and Saudi Arabia. The BNPL programme will meet growing consumer demand for flexible, digital-first payment options, and support the region’s e-commerce ecosystem through a new program focused on providing consumers choice.
Mastercard Instalments – set to go live later this year – uses the power of the company’s trusted network to make BNPL available to millions of consumers and merchants worldwide. It enables banks, lenders, FinTech companies and wallets to offer a variety of flexible instalment options to consumers, including a 0% interest, pay-in-four model. Implementation is handled by Mastercard and the acquirer, with no lift to the merchant, to offer this new payment choice and no disruption to the existing customer experience.
Mastercard is working with leading partners representing a significant market share in the region, including Abu Dhabi Commercial Bank (ADBC), Network International and National Bank of Ras Al Khaimah (RAKBANK) in the UAE, and Saudi National Bank (SNB) in Saudi Arabia. The solution sits alongside several bespoke BNPL go-to-market models that Mastercard is developing with its digital partners across a variety of sectors including mobility, retail and marketplaces.
“Above everything, consumers today demand flexibility and choice. With Mastercard Instalments, we want to give people the choice to pay how, when and where they want. This most recent product innovation builds on the trust between businesses and their customers with Buy Now, Pay Later options benefitting everyone in the ecosystem. As Mastercard continues to design solutions for an evolving digital economy, we see BNPL becoming a standard for shopping and we look forward to implementing this offering in the UAE and Saudi Arabia later this year,” said Khalid Elgibali, Division President for the Middle East and North Africa, Mastercard.
The Mastercard Instalments programme helps merchants scale BNPL offerings to consumers to turn convenience into a competitive advantage. BNPL solutions have been shown to increase average sales by 45% and reduce cart abandonment by 35% post-implementation. Mastercard Instalments provides seamless merchant integration with a streamlined process for millions of merchants who already accept Mastercard. Meanwhile, acquiring banks can offer instalments capabilities to their entire merchant base with minimal, simple integration.
Fuelled by changing consumer spending habits during the pandemic, BNPL adoption continues to accelerate globally. In addition to consumer demand, the momentum is being driven by issuer and merchant desire to deliver new, complementary ways for consumers to shop both in-store and online.