UnionPay and Amazon Payment Services Partner to Boost MENA Card Acceptance

Editorial Team

Last updated 25-11-2025

3 min

UnionPay International collaborates with Amazon Payment Services to expand card acceptance in MENA markets.

The partnership promises seamless payment options, benefiting businesses and UnionPay’s cardholders across the region.

Millions of UnionPay cardholders will enjoy easier payments with Amazon Payment Services merchants.

The collaboration aids merchants in accessing UnionPay's global customer base and supports e-commerce growth.

This initiative highlights progress in simplifying complex payment systems for regional startups and businesses.

UnionPay International has struck a fresh collaboration with Amazon Payment Services that’s set to widen card acceptance across several MENA markets, including the UAE, Saudi Arabia, Qatar, Bahrain, Kuwait, Egypt, Jordan and Lebanon. I remember chatting with a founder at a Cairo meetup not long ago who said accepting certain international cards was still a bit of a faff for regional merchants. So this move feels spot on for businesses keen to reach travellers and cross‑border shoppers.

The agreement was signed by Luping Zhang, General Manager of UnionPay International Middle East, and Pablo Londono, Managing Director of Amazon Payment Services, with senior teams from both sides attending. Zhang said the partnership would strengthen UnionPay’s ability to offer seamless payment options across the region, adding that it helps businesses serve a growing base of its cardholders. Londono, meanwhile, highlighted that bringing UnionPay into the Amazon Payment Services network broadens the payment choices merchants can offer and supports secure, frictionless transactions across multiple countries.

Once the technical integration is completed, millions of UnionPay cardholders will be able to pay more easily when shopping with merchants connected to Amazon Payment Services. On the flip side, those merchants gain access to UnionPay’s customer base spread across more than 80 countries and regions—something I reckon many retailers will be chuffed to bits about, especially those exploring MENA e‑commerce expansion after seeing the recent jump in digital spending.

Amazon Payment Services already provides tools like tokenisation, local payment options and instalment plans, you know? And believe it or not, that mix has become a lifeline for startups who want to scale without drowning in complex payment setups. At Arageek we often hear founders talk about how payments can make or break early traction. So seeing two major players try to smooth things out is, well… encouraging, even if the ecosystem is still far from perfect. One merchant told me last year—half joking—that payment gateways can feel like a maze, or a bit of a nightmere, if you’re new to it all.

Still, partnerships like this tend to nudge the market in the right direction. And as MENA’s digital commerce keeps gathering pace, giving customers more ways to pay seems less like a luxury and more like table stakes.

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