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Oman licence is ‘tremendous’ win for Egypt’s Paymob

By Andy Sambidge
Digital payments at till fintech The value of digital transactions in Oman this year is expected to exceed $9 billion dollars Unsplash/Christiann Koepke
The value of digital transactions in Oman this year is expected to exceed $9 billion dollars
  • Cairo-based fintech secures licence
  • Oman on digital transformation path
  • Payments could exceed $9bn in 2024

Digital payments company Paymob has secured a licence to expand into Oman and says it represents a “tremendous opportunity” as e-commerce transactions soar. 

The Cairo-based business has announced that it has received the Central Bank of Oman’s (CBO) payment service provider licence, the first international fintech to do so.

The licence authorises Paymob to accept and process online and in-store payments in Oman via the CBO’s OmanNet system. 

“We are bullish on Oman because we see a tremendous opportunity to add value to the market,” said Omar El-Gammal, executive vice-president global business development at Paymob.

Oman is digitally transforming its banking sector, guided by the country’s Vision 2040. 

Between 2018 and 2022, ATM, point of sale and e-commerce transactions processed through OmanNet increased 300 percent to more than 250 million.  

According to Statista, total transaction value in the digital payments market in Oman is projected to exceed $9 billion in 2024.

Annual growth of more than 15 percent is also forecast to take digital payment transactions to $14.1 billion by 2027, driven by mobile point of sale payments.

The Paymob licence enables merchants in the sultanate to accept both local and cross-border payments, eliminating the need for multiple gateway integrations. 

Blazer, Clothing, CoatPaymob
Omar El-Gammal says that Paymob will add value to the digital payments market in Oman

Paymob serves 250,000 merchants across the Middle East, North Africa and Pakistan. It launched in Pakistan in 2021 and in the UAE in 2022. It also received a payment technical services provider certification in Saudi Arabia in May, with a full launch in the pipeline.

The expansion is supported by a $50 million series B funding round completed in 2022.

Last year, El-Gammal described the fintech industry as one of the stronger sectors when it comes to growth and attracting capital in the region. 

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