Checkout.com Crowned ‘Fintech of the Year 2025’ at Abu Dhabi Finance Week

Editorial Team

Last updated 15-12-2025

3 min

Checkout.

com was named “Fintech of the Year 2025” at Abu Dhabi Finance Week.

This award highlights their efforts to improve payment performance for MENA merchants.

The company's localised routing tools reduce payment failures, enhancing customer satisfaction.

They've collaborated with local banks and regulators, creating novel market services.

Despite increased digital payment competition, Checkout.

com remains pivotal in the region’s fintech evolution.

Checkout.com has picked up the title of “Fintech of the Year 2025” from the MENA Fintech Association during Abu Dhabi Finance Week, a moment that seemed to land with plenty of weight across the regional startup scene. The recognition highlighted the company’s efforts to boost payment performance for merchants in the Middle East and North Africa, along with a series of first‑in‑market features developed with partners in the wider ecosystem.

What caught my attention—maybe because at Arageek we spend so much time cheering on growing startups—is how Checkout.com keeps weaving itself into the region’s digital economy. One example often mentioned in industry chatter is its work with major merchants to reduce failed payments using more localised routing tools. It sounds a bit technical on the surface, but the idea is simple: fewer declined transactions, happier customers. Spot on, really.

During the ceremony, the MENA Fintech Association pointed to innovations rolled out over the past year, particularly those aimed at supporting e‑commerce businesses and fintech newcomers tackling the usual headaches around cross‑border payments. I reckon this sort of progress shows why global players still see the region as a place worth betting on, even if scaling here can sometimes be a bit of a faff.

Checkout.com’s team said they were honoured by the award, noting that the recognition reflects ongoing collaborations with banks, regulators and local technology firms. And believe it or not, some of those partnerships have already produced services that didn’t exist in the market just a couple of years ago. On the flip side, the competition in digital payments is heating up fast, so keeping that edge won’t be easy… you know?

From my own early days covering startup meetups—usually in cramped cafés where the AC never worked—I’ve seen how much founders depend on reliable payment rails. When those rails work smoothly, businesses grow. When they don’t, well, things can go downhill pretty quickly. That’s why awards like this, while symbolic, tend to shine a light on the bits of infrastructure that quietly keep the region’s digital economy alive.

All in all, the recognition for Checkout.com arrives at a time when fintech regulation in the UAE and neighbouring markets is shifting faster than many entrepreneurs can keep up with. If nothing else, this award suggests the company is navigating that landscape fairly well, even as the industry definately braces for its next wave of change.

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