Launched in 2023 beneath a Central Financial institution of Bahrain licence, stc pay has broadened from a shopper pockets right into a service used for transfers, invoice funds, card spend, remittances and payroll.
At Fintech Ahead 2025 in Bahrain, the corporate saved a busy schedule – sponsoring the occasion, exhibiting on a stand and asserting two partnerships: with AlMoayed ICT, a Bahraini IT and techniques integrator, to assist reliability and scale; and with ARP Digital, a CBB-licensed digital-asset companies supplier, so as to add a digital-asset settlement part.
On the stc pay stand, CEO Metin Zavrak spoke with The Fintech Occasions about how far personalisation could be pushed in Bahrain and what a selective regional growth in 2026 might appear to be.
What ought to folks find out about stc pay Bahrain?
stc pay is a subsidiary of stc Bahrain and one of many Kingdom’s main cellular wallets, totally licensed by the Central Financial institution of Bahrain (CBB). Our platform gives for each customers and corporates safe, quick, and handy monetary companies together with native and worldwide cash transfers, pay as you go playing cards, invoice funds, company playing cards, and payroll options, and unique gives.
What really defines us is our position in monetary inclusion. We’ve got empowered hundreds of low-income expatriates and unbanked people with reasonably priced and user-friendly digital monetary options. On the similar time, our partnership with Mastercard has enabled world acceptance by way of our pay as you go card in numerous tiers (Platinum, Elite and Elite Steel card), giving prospects the flexibility to transact worldwide with added worth.
Internationally, we’re proud to be recognised as ‘Greatest Digital Cell Pockets’ for 2 consecutive years by the Worldwide Finance Awards, a testomony to our innovation and affect in shaping Bahrain’s fintech panorama.
The governor of CBB says Bahrain is main the world in prompt funds. Why do you suppose that is and what regional traits have you ever seen?
Bahrain’s management in prompt funds is the results of progressive regulation and the Central Financial institution of Bahrain’s forward-looking imaginative and prescient, which has created an atmosphere the place innovation can thrive whereas guaranteeing buyer belief and safety.
We see two key traits driving adoption:
- On a regular basis transactions: Prospects count on cashless comfort whether or not purchasing, paying payments or transferring cash domestically. As a result of stc pay is broadly used between prospects in Bahrain, that enable us to construct the stc pay to stc pay transfers immediately and freed from cost, along with that, stc pay pockets challenge prompt digital IBAN for the shopper permitting him to ship financial institution to financial institution transfers by way of our partnership with Khaleeji Industrial Financial institution.
- Cross-border remittances: Bahrain’s giant expatriate neighborhood requires reasonably priced, real-time worldwide transfers. stc pay has addressed this want by enabling seamless world remittances to over 60 international locations with aggressive change charges, guaranteeing cash reaches households immediately and securely.
This steadiness between native utility and world attain has positioned Bahrain and stc pay as leaders in prompt digital funds.
Why is Bahrain an essential marketplace for stc and why does being licensed in Bahrain assist your development?
The stc group initiative is all the time to broaden regionally and globally, specifically the place we all know extra in regards to the market. After success in telecoms, we determined to construct on this success story by launching stc pay.
Bahrain is a strategic market with one of many area’s most superior regulatory frameworks for fintech. Being licensed by the CBB supplies our prospects with full confidence within the security, compliance and reliability of our companies.
This licence additionally permits us to innovate responsibly, from launching the Wage Safety System-compliant payroll service to providing prompt IBANs for expatriates. By working beneath one sturdy regulator, we are able to scale sooner, construct belief and introduce options that not solely serve Bahrain however could be replicated throughout different markets.
What are your key takeaways from 2025?
The primary classes realized in 2025 are that buyer assist is likely one of the foremost success keys, buyer expertise permits the shopper to shift from the standard companies to extra digitally and safety is likely one of the most essential issues for purchasers.
Constructing on these, 2025 was a milestone 12 months for us, with a number of achievements value highlighting:
- Processing greater than 30 million transactions valued at over BHD1billion, demonstrating sturdy adoption
- Successful the Greatest Digital Cell Pockets award for the second consecutive 12 months
- Increasing our worldwide remittance corridors, notably by way of partnerships with Mastercard cross-border funds, Good day Paisa, Terra pay, Ria and EzRemit
- Rising our company payroll companies with over 100 corporations now enrolled beneath our WPS-compliant resolution.
The primary lesson we realized is the significance of fixed innovation, whether or not by way of AI, digital onboarding, or consumer expertise, to maintain tempo with evolving shopper expectations.
Trying ahead to 2026, what’s on the horizon? What do you suppose would be the key speaking factors?
2026 shall be a 12 months of increasing to different markets regionally, and for the Bahrain market, personalisation and growth. We’re integrating AI extra deeply into our companies, not only for fraud prevention but additionally to supply smarter, extra personalised monetary suggestions.
Regionally, we’re centered on increasing our worldwide footprint by way of new remittance partnerships and cost corridors, whereas persevering with to strengthen our native providing with progressive card merchandise, household options, and company companies.
Our imaginative and prescient is to cement stc pay’s position because the gateway between native monetary wants and world monetary entry, serving to Bahrain stay on the forefront of fintech innovation.
What brings you to Fintech Ahead and what do you get pleasure from in regards to the occasion?
Fintech Ahead brings collectively world leaders, regulators, innovators, and traders in a single place. For us, it is a chance to showcase Bahrain’s success story by way of stc pay, change data and discover partnerships that speed up innovation within the fintech house.
What we notably worth is the flexibility to attach with each native and worldwide stakeholders, highlighting Bahrain as a hub for digital monetary companies and stc pay as considered one of its flagship gamers.
Lastly, what else ought to we find out about your story?
I’d emphasise that stc pay’s story is not only about know-how, however about affect. By empowering low-income expatriates with prompt IBANs and safe payroll companies, by enabling households to entry cashback and world card advantages, and by offering companies with cost-saving company instruments, we’re contributing on to Bahrain’s financial imaginative and prescient of a digital and cashless society.
Our partnerships with banks and monetary establishments, corresponding to Khaleeji Financial institution for digital IBANs and Mastercard for world card and remittance options, mirror our openness to collaborate with any establishment that helps buyer wants. In the end, our position is to make monetary companies accessible, safe and rewarding for everybody.
