Saudi-based regional Fintech Hala has acquired UAE’s payment startup Paymennt.com as it aims to expand its foothold in the SME sector.
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FinTech Hala has announced its acquisition of Paymennt.com through its holding company. Paymennt.com, previously called PointCheckout established in 2017 and cofounded by Bashar Saleh and Tarek Ghobar, is a payment service provider, regulated by the Abu Dhabi Global Market’s RegLab, and with offices across UAE and Jordan. HALA commenced its operations in 2018, with a clear focus on serving SME’s.
The top three markets of MENA - UAE, KSA, and Egypt, have been leading in the M&A activity front too. Last year, UAE closed more exit deals than KSA and Egypt combined. The heightened M&A activity can be attributed to the economic slowdown as it could be challenging to raise funds in an environment of higher interest rates. The MENA region accounted for almost 50% of the total exits in the Emerging Venture Markets, as reported in our FY2022 MENA Venture Investment Report. A number of startups in the UAE reported multiple acquisitions during the year such as Lyve Global acquired last mile delivery company Jeebly and drop-ship service provider ShopiniWorld. T&L giant Careem acquired MUNCH:ON, Denarii Cash, while Huspy recorded three acquisitions including that of Home Matters Mortgage Consultants, Just Mortgages LLC, and Finance Lab.
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Hala previously acquired Saudi startup “Fresh” in 2021, now called Hala cashier, which currently enables Hala to integrate non-financial added value services to its SME customers. Speaking at the second edition of LEAP – The Largest Global Technology Event, Maher Loubieh, Co-Founder, HALA said, “We are excited to welcome Paymennt team to our family to join us in executing our shared vision. The trigger was simple, we met smart entrepreneurs who share a similar vision and who are building a complementary product that clearly fits within our strategy. With more to come, this is our first endeavor outside our homeland and is the first block towards executing our global vision. We believe integrating the offering of Paymennt.com with that of Hala will provide a major added-value for our customers in Saudi and in UAE”.
This acquisition will allow Hala to further enhance its product offerings by incorporating online payments, enabling its SME customers to increase their online presence and process omnichannel payments both offline and online. Terming the acquisition as one major step forward for SME payments, Bashar Saleh, Co-Founder and Chief Executive Officer, Paymennt.com said, “It’s a privilege to join a key player in the region’s FINTECH ecosystem, one that shares our commitment and passion to cater to the needs of SMEs. We are very proud of what our team has achieved to date, having gained the trust of our merchants in processing their payments. Now, being part of the Hala family, we can better serve our customers and grow across the Middle East and beyond.”
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