Digital payments company Stripe is entering the Middle East market with the opening of an office in Dubai after raising $600 million last month that valued the company at $95bn.
The company, which has its main bases in San Francisco and Dublin, has partnered with Dubai-based Network International, one of the top payment processing companies in the Middle East and North Africa, to roll out its services in the region.
Businesses operating online in the region can use Stripe’s platform to accept payments, the company said in a statement on Tuesday. It will also connect its existing global clients to the region.
"The UAE is a thriving hub for technology, supported by strong investor appetite [and] internet-savvy consumers … however, businesses still face challenges when trying to accept payments, make payouts and manage the money side of internet businesses," Matt Henderson, Europe, Middle East and Africa business lead at Stripe, said.
“Stripe removes these complexities so businesses can focus on what makes them special,” he added.
Stripe has been working with a number of clients in the Middle East on a trial basis to test the feasibility of its technology ahead of its launch, with businesses such as Aceplace, ChatFood, and WeKeep already using the platform to process online payments, the company said.
Founded in 2010 by Irish brothers Patrick and John Collison, Stripe raised $600m from investors including Baillie Gifford, insurers Axa and Allianz, asset manager Fidelity and venture capital firm Sequoia Capital.
Digital payments are thriving as users increasingly moved away from using cash during the Covid-19 pandemic.
Globally, digital payments are set to grow to $8.3 trillion in 2024, from $4.4tn last year, according to Statista. In the UAE, they have more than doubled over the last two years to $18.5bn in 2020, according to Stripe.
Two-thirds of UAE residents expect the country to become fully cashless by 2030, a poll by Standard Chartered showed in September.
Stripe has more than 50 customers who use the platform to process more than $1bn worth of payments each year, the company said following its recent fund-raising.
“As an international technology business operating out of the UAE, the ability to leverage Stripe’s global payments infrastructure means we can really accelerate our growth,” Faisal Memon, founder and chief executive of Illusions Online, a company that offers enterprise software for travel companies, said.
More than 10,000 companies registered an interest in Stripe's UAE launch, the company said. It will schedule invitations during its first few weeks of availability in the UAE to manage demand, it added.
Six large-scale objects on show
- Concrete wall and windows from the now demolished Robin Hood Gardens housing estate in Poplar
- The 17th Century Agra Colonnade, from the bathhouse of the fort of Agra in India
- A stagecloth for The Ballet Russes that is 10m high – the largest Picasso in the world
- Frank Lloyd Wright’s 1930s Kaufmann Office
- A full-scale Frankfurt Kitchen designed by Margarete Schütte-Lihotzky, which transformed kitchen design in the 20th century
- Torrijos Palace dome
COMPANY PROFILE
Name: Qyubic
Started: October 2023
Founder: Namrata Raina
Based: Dubai
Sector: E-commerce
Current number of staff: 10
Investment stage: Pre-seed
Initial investment: Undisclosed
The specs
Engine: 1.5-litre turbo
Power: 181hp
Torque: 230Nm
Transmission: 6-speed automatic
Starting price: Dh79,000
On sale: Now
Teaching your child to save
Pre-school (three - five years)
You can’t yet talk about investing or borrowing, but introduce a “classic” money bank and start putting gifts and allowances away. When the child wants a specific toy, have them save for it and help them track their progress.
Early childhood (six - eight years)
Replace the money bank with three jars labelled ‘saving’, ‘spending’ and ‘sharing’. Have the child divide their allowance into the three jars each week and explain their choices in splitting their pocket money. A guide could be 25 per cent saving, 50 per cent spending, 25 per cent for charity and gift-giving.
Middle childhood (nine - 11 years)
Open a bank savings account and help your child establish a budget and set a savings goal. Introduce the notion of ‘paying yourself first’ by putting away savings as soon as your allowance is paid.
Young teens (12 - 14 years)
Change your child’s allowance from weekly to monthly and help them pinpoint long-range goals such as a trip, so they can start longer-term saving and find new ways to increase their saving.
Teenage (15 - 18 years)
Discuss mutual expectations about university costs and identify what they can help fund and set goals. Don’t pay for everything, so they can experience the pride of contributing.
Young adulthood (19 - 22 years)
Discuss post-graduation plans and future life goals, quantify expenses such as first apartment, work wardrobe, holidays and help them continue to save towards these goals.
* JP Morgan Private Bank
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UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
The specs
- Engine: 3.9-litre twin-turbo V8
- Power: 640hp
- Torque: 760nm
- On sale: 2026
- Price: Not announced yet
2.0
Director: S Shankar
Producer: Lyca Productions; presented by Dharma Films
Cast: Rajnikanth, Akshay Kumar, Amy Jackson, Sudhanshu Pandey
Rating: 3.5/5 stars
War
Director: Siddharth Anand
Cast: Hrithik Roshan, Tiger Shroff, Ashutosh Rana, Vaani Kapoor
Rating: Two out of five stars
GAC GS8 Specs
Engine: 2.0-litre 4cyl turbo
Power: 248hp at 5,200rpm
Torque: 400Nm at 1,750-4,000rpm
Transmission: 8-speed auto
Fuel consumption: 9.1L/100km
On sale: Now
Price: From Dh149,900
