Paymob and Tamara to Provide Payment Solutions for SMEs

Paymob, a financial services provider based in Egypt, has entered into a strategic partnership with Tamara, a Saudi-based Buy Now, Pay Later (BNPL) platform.^[1]  

The collaboration aims to deliver comprehensive and seamless payment solutions tailored for small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) operating in the GCC.

The key focus of this alliance is the integration of Tamara's BNPL service with Paymob's secure gateway, providing customers with the flexibility to split payments into four installments, all without incurring fees or interest charges.

By combining their expertise, Paymob and Tamara seek to establish a robust payment ecosystem for merchants, empowering them to offer more adaptable and customer-friendly payment solutions.

The initial phase of the partnership will serve merchants in two major GCC economies, Saudi Arabia and the UAE.

Following this, the collaborative effort plans to extend its reach to encompass other GCC countries in subsequent phases.

In December, Tamara raised $340 million in a Series C funding round that values the fintech at $1 billion being a unicorn.

The funding round, composed of primary capital and a transaction of some secondary shares, is among the largest investments in a fintech in the region.

Tamara works with over 26,000 merchants serving over 10 million users across its primary markets in Saudi Arabia, the UAE, and Kuwait, which shop from 30,000 partner merchants such as regional and global brands SHEIN, IKEA, Jarir, Noon, eXtra, and Farfetch. 

Founded in 2015 by Islam Shawky, Alain El Hajj and Mostafa El Menessy, Egypt-based fintech startup Paymob provides online and offline merchants with digital payment solutions.

In 2021, Paymob secured $18.5 million in its Series A round, led by Global Ventures with participation from A15 and Dutch entrepreneurial development bank FMO.^[2]  

A year later, it closed its Series B round worth $50 million.^[3]