AFS and Planet Revamp Bahrain’s Hospitality Payments with Groundbreaking Partnership

Editorial Team

Last updated 7-10-2025

3 min

Arab Financial Services (AFS) and Planet aim to revolutionise transactions in Bahrain's hospitality sector.

They integrate Planet’s hospitality tech with AFS’s payment expertise, enhancing operational efficiency.

This partnership offers a smooth, single platform for businesses, reducing errors and costs.

Initially launching in Bahrain, the collaboration plans to expand into Oman, the UAE, and Egypt.

Their combined efforts promise a significant impact on hospitality and regional business operations.

Arab Financial Services (AFS), widely recognised for driving digital payments across the Middle East and Africa, has joined forces with Planet, a global name in integrated payment and tech solutions. The pair have set their sights on transforming how hotels and restaurants in Bahrain handle transactions — and, quite frankly, how guests experience their stays from check-in to check-out.

At its heart, the partnership means that the region’s merchants can finally stop juggling multiple systems and enjoy one seamless platform. By fusing Planet’s hospitality technology with AFS’s regional know-how in card issuing, processing and acquiring, the new system should cut down errors, lower operating costs and make payment flows smoother for both guests and operators.

AFS’s CEO, Samer Soliman, described the partnership as “a major market differentiator” for hospitality payments in Bahrain, noting that it gives businesses a clear commercial edge while improving customers’ convenience. On the flip side, Planet’s Chief Commercial Officer, Colin Close, pointed out that the company has long been a major payments player in the Middle East, and that teaming up with AFS gives them the firepower to expand hospitality solutions even further across the region.

The first rollout takes place in Bahrain, but there’s already a roadmap to take this duo’s collaboration into Oman, the UAE and Egypt — no small ambition for two companies that already hold serious weight in payments innovation. I reckon it’s spot on timing too, given how the hospitality scene in Bahrain has been eager to level up its tech to match the country’s fast-growing tourism demand.

What caught my eye, though, is how this move isn’t just about tech upgrades. It’s about giving regional businesses the breathing room to focus on what they do best — looking after guests. I remember chatting with a Bahraini café owner last year who said managing multiple payment terminals was “a bit of a faff.” Well… I mean, that headache might soon be a thing of the past.

Both companies have impressive pedigrees. AFS, founded back in 1984 and backed by 37 banks, has become a certified payments powerhouse. It operates in over 20 countries and is licensed by central banks in Bahrain, Egypt and the UAE. Planet, on the other hand, has a long history from its London headquarters, powering payments in more than 120 markets worldwide.

For Arageek, stories like this hit close to home. They remind us why energising and empowering startups — or even legacy firms reinventing themselves — matters so much in regions like the Gulf. AFS and Planet’s leap may seem technical today, but it has the potential to ripple across hospitality and beyond tomorrow. And if that means smoother service and fewer payment hiccups next time I grab a coffee in Manama, I’ll be chuffed to bits.

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