Mastercard certifies NymCard as principal Mastercard issuer in UAE

By Leandra Monteiro

Mastercard has certified NymCard, a plug-and-play banking-as-a-service (BaaS) provider, as a Principal Mastercard Issuer in the UAE. The milestone announcement marks the first time a FinTech in the UAE is licensed to issue cards by Mastercard.

The license from Mastercard enables NymCard to become the UAE’s one-stop provider for FinTechs and digital partners, removing the need for multiple vendors and payment rails by offering its clients open and modern APIs.

Now, FinTechs and financial institutions can plug and play into NymCard’s modern BaaS infrastructure to issue their own Mastercard cards and enable their unique business models faster than ever before. Through their Principal Mastercard License, NymCard will empower digital partners, enabling them to go live in as little as a few weeks.

Ngozi Megwa, SVP, Digital Partnerships, Eastern Europe, Middle East and Africa, Mastercard said, “Partnerships play a vital role in realizing the full potential of the digital economy. We are proud to join hands with NymCard; together, we will deliver industry-leading and scalable payment technology solutions that enable fintechs across the region to quickly and easily issue their own cards through the power of our global network.”

J.K. Khalil, Cluster General Manager, MENA East, Mastercard added, “We are delighted to welcome NymCard as the UAE’s first Principal Mastercard Issuer in the fintech space. We are committed to accelerating the booming fintech market and paving the way for all players to help realize the UAE’s vision to become a global fintech Hub.”

“As the only banking-as-a-service (BaaS) provider in the MENA region, our mission is to enable innovators to build, launch and scale payment programs with no friction. Working with Mastercard will enable fast, convenient and cost-efficient card issuing! It represents a real opportunity for us as a fintech enabler to expand our embedded finance capabilities across the whole of MENA,” said Omar Onsi, CEO and Founder, NymCard.

MENA-based Banking as-a-Service (BaaS) provider NymCard have built their tech stack from the ground up and are fully regulated by the central bank of the UAE. They offer FinTechs and other industry innovators the infrastructure to plug and play ready finance into their applications, enabling them to frictionlessly scale their payments programs across multiple markets.