Mastercard strengthens ME presence

Manama : Mastercard has inaugurated its first dedicated office in Bahrain as part of its efforts to strengthen its presence in the wider Middle East & Africa region. The office will operate under the name: Mastercard Singapore Holding Pte Ltd – Bahrain Representative Office.

To mark the occasion, Mastercard organised an exclusive event with the participation of Khalid Al Rumaihi, Chief Executive of Bahrain Economic Development Board (EDB),  Senior Mastercard executives including Raghu Malhotra, President, Middle East and Africa and Khalid Elgibali, Division President, Middle East and North Africa, other guests and banking officials. 

Commenting on the opening, Raghu Malhotra, President, Middle East and Africa, Mastercard, said that Mastercard have a robust expansion and growth strategy in place for the region. 

“We look forward to leveraging our global and local expertise and innovation capabilities to roll out world-class payments technologies in this market alongside our partners,” he added.  

Highlighting Bahrain’s growth as a fintech hub, Khalid Elgibali, Division President, Middle East and North Africa, Mastercard said that the Mastercard is looking forward to play an active role in the future growth and development of the payments sector in the Kingdom through its tailored products and payments solutions. 

“As a prominent financial centre in the region, Bahrain is making great strides towards becoming a fintech hub,” added Elgibali. 

Welcoming Mastercard’s new payments solutions to the Kingdom and highlighting Bahrain’s prospects as a regional financial centre, Khalid Al Rumaihi, Chief Executive of the Bahrain EDB, said, “The financial services industry in the Kingdom is one which continuously evolves to meet the needs of the region.”

In this regard, Al Rumaihi also pointed out that Bahrain is witnessing many exciting opportunities within the industry, and particularly rapid growth in the Fintech sector.