Amazon Payment Services and Tabby join hands to enable merchants offer BNPL solution to customers

As a flexible payment plan Buy Now, Pay Later (BNPL) has reached maturity in the western region, it remains in its growth phase in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) and is expected to expand across all major consumer-driven industries, according to findings from the “What’s Next for Digital Payments in the Middle East and North Africa” whitepaper, sponsored by Amazon Payment Services and led by Euromonitor International. As this payment method matures, new companies and alliances are expected to emerge in the field soon.

BNPL has gained momentum in MENA over the past few years amongst merchants and organisations across industries, from retail to travel, education, government services and more. With BNPL, customers can split the cost of their purchase across a few interest-free monthly payments at the time of purchase, rather than paying at once that allows greater affordability and convenience.

To make BNPL available to more merchants in the UAE and the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA), Amazon Payment Services has partnered with Tabby, a leading BNPL provider in the region.

The BNPL service provided by Tabby enables customers to split purchases into four payments with zero interest, online and in-store. After selecting Tabby at checkout, customers can link any credit or debit card and get instant approval.

Commenting on the partnership, Peter George, Managing Director of Amazon Payment Services in MENA said, “Buy Now, Pay Later opens up a world of opportunity for both merchants and their customers, offering affordability, flexibility and convenience on transactions for both small and big-ticket items. The partnership between Amazon Payment Services and Tabby enables our diverse set of regional merchants, from local SMEs to international corporations to accept more payments, drive customer retention and boost repeat purchases. This comes in line with our longstanding mission of empowering businesses to bring their operations online, including startups and SMEs, which are integral to the regional economy.”   

The new BNPL offering complements Amazon Payment Services’ flagship Installments offering, which automatically converts a customer’s credit card purchases into instalments with select banks, without the need for the customer to contact their credit provider. Amazon Payment Services’ credit card Installments service was found to help in increasing the average online shopping basket size by 20-25%, and in growing overall sales by 10-15%.

As Installments are limited to credit card holders, Amazon Payment Services’ partnership with Tabby helps to bridge this gap for debit card holders across both the UAE and KSA. “Along with Installments, we now have a strong product offering for merchants to provide affordable ways for their customers to buy products and services, and ultimately expand their online business,” George added.

Amazon Payment Services is constantly innovating on behalf of its customers to expand the company’s portfolio, based on the payment service provider’s customer-obsessed philosophy.

Strategic collaboration is key

Amazon Payment Services’ partnership with Tabby comes as the company’s latest effort to bring value to the regional BNPL sector through strategic collaboration.

“Building these partnerships enables BNPL providers to reach more merchants and scale quickly, by tapping into our base of thousands of merchants in the region,” said George.

Previously, Amazon Payment Services partnered with valU, one of Egypt’s leading BNPL consumer financing platforms to offer customers the ability to pay through a BNPL instalment plan.

BNPL adoption will only continue to grow in the MENA region with many merchants yet to discover the possibilities being offered through partnerships between payment service providers like Amazon Payment Services and BNPL fintech players such as Tabby.