Middle East Buy Now Pay Later Business and Investment Opportunities Databook - 90+ KPIs on BNPL Market Size, End-Use Sectors, Market Share, Product Analysis, Business Model, Demographics - Q1 2026 Update

Key Trends and Drivers

Bring BNPL fully under formal consumer-finance regulation

• BNPL is being treated less as a “lightweight” checkout feature and more as regulated consumer credit in markets such as Saudi Arabia, the UAE, and Egypt. In Saudi Arabia, the central bank (SAMA) has issued dedicated rules to regulate BNPL Companies and linked BNPL to its broader finance company regime. In 2025, Tamara obtained a full consumer finance and BNPL license from SAMA, allowing higher ticket sizes and a broader product set. In Egypt, the Financial Regulatory Authority (FRA) supervises BNPL under its fintech framework and has both granted BNPL fintech licences (e.g., valU) and temporarily paused the issuance of new licences to manage overheating.
• The rapid growth of non-bank consumer finance and rising BNPL penetration have raised concerns about over-indebtedness and credit risk management, especially in inflation-affected markets like Egypt. Regulators in Saudi Arabia and the UAE are using BNPL rules and short-term lending frameworks to align with national financial-sector strategies and to ensure providers either obtain a license or partner with a licensed bank or finance company. Industry leaders themselves (Tabby, Tamara, valU) now publicly frame long-term BNPL growth as dependent on robust regulation and consumer protection, reinforcing the policy direction.
• Market entry will become more capital- and compliance-intensive, favouring licensed, well-funded players and bank-backed models over smaller, lightly regulated startups. BNPL economics will increasingly resemble regulated consumer finance (credit limits, affordability checks, clearer fee caps), narrowing room for aggressive promotions. We should expect fewer but larger BNPL providers in Saudi Arabia, the UAE, and Egypt, and stronger convergence among BNPL, instalment loans, and traditional consumer finance products.

Scale BNPL through omnichannel retail and payment-stack partnerships

• BNPL is shifting from a mainly ecommerce add-on to a standard installment option across online and in-store channels, particularly in Saudi Arabia, the UAE, and Egypt. Recent analysis of MENA BNPL shows that in-store point-of-sale is the fastest-growing channel in the UAE and Saudi Arabia, reflecting mall-centric retail behaviour. In 2025, MoneyHash, a payment-orchestration platform, partnered with Tabby to give merchants across the UAE and Saudi Arabia access to Tabby’s instalments via a single API, embedding BNPL directly into PSP and gateway stacks. In Egypt, valU’s licensed digital onboarding on Noon allows shoppers to activate BNPL at checkout without prior registration, reflecting similar embedded-payments logic in local ecommerce.
• Large physical retail formats in Riyadh, Jeddah, Dubai and Abu Dhabi remain important, so providers like Tamara and Tabby are investing in in-store integrations and cards to follow the customer from app to mall POS. Merchants increasingly prefer orchestration platforms and PSPs to consolidate payment methods; plugging BNPL into these rails is more scalable than one-off integrations (as seen in MoneyHash-Tabby). For providers, omnichannel presence is a way to diversify volumes beyond pure ecommerce and reduce dependence on a narrow set of online verticals.
• BNPL in the Middle East is likely to become a default payment feature in mid- to large retailers’ POS systems, not just on ecommerce sites. Competition will increasingly be decided by breadth of merchant coverage and depth of integration (one-API access, reconciliation, refunds) rather than just end-user app branding. PSPs, gateways and orchestration platforms will gain influence over which BNPL providers win shelf space at checkout, nudging the market toward a handful of regionally scaled partners.

Extend BNPL beyond discretionary retail into services and essential spend

• BNPL usage is expanding beyond fashion and electronics into education, travel, insurance, healthcare and bills, with different patterns by country. A 2025 MENA trends review highlights BNPL adoption for school-fee instalments via edtech platforms such as Classera across GCC markets, and travel bookings via players like Cleartrip in the UAE. In insurance, providers such as GIG Gulf report strong growth in instalment plans for car and health coverage as customers spread rising premiums over time. In Egypt, valU’s FRA-licensed BNPL is now embedded in multiple categories, retail, healthcare, education, and services and extended through partnerships with logistics and payment players such as ShipBlu and PayTabs Egypt.
• Cost-of-living and inflation pressures, particularly in Egypt and some Gulf markets, are pushing households to seek instalment plans for high-value or recurring expenses such as tuition, medical bills, and travel. Service providers (schools, hospitals, insurers, travel platforms) view BNPL as a way to sustain demand without heavy discounting, while managing their own receivables through BNPL partners. Regulators are willing to allow expansion into these sectors provided providers operate under a licensed, supervised regime (FRA licences in Egypt; SAMA licensing in Saudi Arabia).
• The mix of BNPL volumes is likely to tilt further toward services and essential spend, especially education and healthcare in Egypt and the Gulf. Product design will become more segment-specific: longer tenures and risk-based pricing for education and medical expenses; shorter, fee-light plans for discretionary retail. The shift into essential categories will keep regulatory scrutiny high, forcing providers to strengthen affordability checks and hardship policies and potentially slowing more speculative growth plays.

Evolve BNPL providers into multi-product financial platforms and cross-border players

• Leading BNPL firms are broadening into full-fledged financial services apps and expanding geographically, especially in the GCC and from Egypt into the Levant. In February 2025, Tabby raised $160 million in Series E funding at a $3.3 billion valuation, with over 15 million users and more than 40,000 merchants across Saudi Arabia, the UAE, and Kuwait. The company now offers BNPL, Tabby Card, longer-term plans, and services such as Tabby Shop and buyer protection, and has acquired the Saudi digital wallet Tweeq. Tamara’s SAMA license allows it to move beyond small BNPL tickets into broader consumer finance, positioning it as a multi-product lender in Saudi Arabia and neighbouring GCC markets.
• valU has listed its shares on the Egyptian Exchange and is expanding from Egypt into Saudi Arabia and Jordan, leveraging its FRA fintech license and BNPL/consumer finance model to support multi-sector instalment products. Regional commentary highlights how BNPL players like Tamara and valU are evolving into broader digital ecosystems that combine credit tracking, brand discovery and services such as travel and healthcare.
• Funding rounds and upcoming IPOs require more diversified revenue streams than merchant fees from pay-in-4 alone; providers are adding cards, accounts, subscriptions, and data-driven services. Regulatory licensing (SAMA, FRA, CBUAE) enables providers to legally offer larger-ticket, longer-tenor products, moving closer to traditional consumer finance models. Cross-border expansion in GCC and North Africa is seen as a way to leverage existing tech and risk infrastructure over a wider customer base, particularly as national visions (e.g., Saudi Vision 2030) prioritize cashless payments and fintech development.
• The BNPL landscape in the Middle East is likely to be dominated by a small set of regional platforms (Tabby, Tamara, valU, and a few others) that combine BNPL with card and wallet features and consumer finance. Boundaries between BNPL, cards, digital wallets and consumer-finance firms will blur, intensifying competition with banks while also creating more partnership opportunities (co-branded cards, co-lending, white-label BNPL). This evolution could improve resilience through diversified income streams and better risk management tools, but may also increase systemic importance, making regulatory engagement a continuing strategic priority for these firms.

Competitive Landscape

Current State of the Market

• BNPL in the Middle East operates within a concentrated environment dominated by regional fintechs, with Saudi Arabia and the UAE shaping competitive norms due to higher regulatory clarity and retail digitization. Tamara and Tabby hold significant positions across GCC markets, supported by strong funding, wide merchant integration, and early compliance with licensing frameworks such as SAMA’s BNPL rules.
• In Egypt, valU anchors competition under the Financial Regulatory Authority’s fintech licensing regime. Competitive intensity is rising as BNPL expands from ecommerce to in-store retail and services, underscoring the importance of partnerships with PSPs and payment gateways. Regulation in Saudi Arabia, the UAE and Egypt has simultaneously raised barriers to entry, concentrating scale among licensed providers.

Key Players and New Entrants

• Tabby operates across Saudi Arabia, the UAE and Kuwait, strengthened by its BNPL, Tabby Card and marketplace integrations. Tamara, now a licensed finance provider in Saudi Arabia, is expanding its product suite beyond short-term BNPL.
• valU continues to operate as a multi-sector instalment platform, recently listed on the Egyptian Exchange and expanding into Saudi Arabia and Jordan. New standalone entrants remain limited; most new activity comes from PSPs and orchestration platforms that embed BNPL rather than from new BNPL-only firms.

Recent Launches, Mergers, and Acquisitions

• Tabby’s 2025 Series E funding and its acquisition of the Saudi digital wallet Tweeq signal a shift toward expanding its financial platform. Tamara secured a full consumer finance and BNPL licence in Saudi Arabia, enabling product extension and larger credit limits.
• In the payments stack, MoneyHash partnered with Tabby to expand BNPL availability across merchants in the UAE and Saudi Arabia. In Egypt, valU deepened integrations with Noon and PayTabs while preparing cross-border expansion.

This is a bundled offering, combining the following 4 reports, covering 200+ tables and 300+ figures for the Buy Now Pay Later Market:

• Middle East Buy Now Pay Later Market Business and Investment Opportunities Databook
• Israel Buy Now Pay Later Market Business and Investment Opportunities Databook
• Saudi Arabia Buy Now Pay Later Market Business and Investment Opportunities Databook
• United Arab Emirates Buy Now Pay Later Market Business and Investment Opportunities Databook

Report Scope

Middle East Retail Industry & Ecommerce Market Size and Forecast

• Retail Industry - Spend Value Trend Analysis
• Buy Now Pay Later Share of Retail Industry
• Ecommerce - Spend Value Trend Analysis
• Buy Now Pay Later Share of Ecommerce

Middle East Buy Now Pay Later Market Size and Industry Attractiveness

• Gross Merchandise Value Trend Analysis
• Average Value Per Transaction Trend Analysis
• Transaction Volume Trend Analysis
• Market Share Analysis by Key Players

Middle East Buy Now Pay Later Revenue Analysis

• Buy Now Pay Later Revenues
• Buy Now Pay Later Share by Revenue Segments
• Buy Now Pay Later Revenue by Merchant Commission
• Buy Now Pay Later Revenue by Missed Payment Fee Revenue
• Buy Now Pay Later Revenue by Pay Now & Other Income

Middle East Buy Now Pay Later Operational KPIs

• Buy Now Pay Later Active Consumer Base
• Buy Now Pay Later Bad Debt

Middle East Buy Now Pay Later Spend Analysis by Business Model

• Two-Party Business Model
• Third-Party Business Model

Middle East Buy Now Pay Later Spend Analysis by Purpose

• Convenience
• Credit

Middle East Buy Now Pay Later Spend Analysis by Merchant Ecosystem

• Open Loop System
• Closed Loop System

Middle East Buy Now Pay Later Spend Analysis by Distribution Model

• Standalone
• Banks & Payment Service Providers
• Marketplaces

Middle East Buy Now Pay Later Spend Analysis by Channel

• Online Channel
• POS Channel

Middle East Buy Now Pay Later By End-Use Sector: Market Size and Forecast

• Retail Shopping
• Home Improvement
• Travel
• Media and Entertainment
• Services
• Automotive
• Health Care and Wellness
• Others

Middle East Buy Now Pay Later By Retail Product Category: Market Size and Forecast

• Apparel, Footwear & Accessories
• Consumer Electronics
• Toys, Kids, and Babies
• Jewelry
• Sporting Goods
• Entertainment & Gaming
• Other

Middle East Buy Now Pay Later Analysis by Consumer Attitude and Behaviour

• Spend Share by Age Group
• Spend Share by Default Rate by Age Group
• Spend Share by Income
• Gross Merchandise Value Share by Gender
• Adoption Rationale
• Spend by Monthly Expense Segments
• Average Number of Transactions per User Annually
• BNPL Users as a Percentage of Total Adult Population

Reasons to Buy

• Strategic and Innovation Insights: Gain clarity on the future direction of Middle East's Buy Now Pay Later market by analysing strategic initiatives, business model evolution, and innovation-led approaches adopted by key BNPL providers to strengthen market positioning.
• Comprehensive Understanding of BNPL Market Dynamics in Middle East: Assess market size, growth outlook, and structural shifts across retail and e-commerce, supported by detailed segmentation by channel, business model, distribution model, merchant ecosystem, end-use sector, and consumer demographics, underpinned by 90+ KPIs.
• Value and Volume-Based KPIs for Market Accuracy: Leverage a robust set of value and volume KPIs, including GMV, average transaction value, transaction volume, active users, revenue, and bad debt, to develop a precise understanding of BNPL adoption, usage intensity, and market maturity.
• Competitive Landscape Assessment: Obtain a clear snapshot of the BNPL competitive landscape in Middle East, including market share analysis of leading providers, enabling informed benchmarking and evaluation of market concentration and competitive intensity.
• Actionable Inputs for Market Entry and Expansion Strategies: Identify high-growth categories, priority end-use sectors, and distribution channels to fine-tune go-to-market and partnership strategies, while assessing key trends, regulatory considerations, and risk factors shaping the BNPL ecosystem.
• In-Depth Consumer Behaviour Analysis: Enhance ROI by understanding evolving consumer attitudes and spending behaviour, with insights into BNPL adoption drivers, usage frequency, income and age-based usage patterns, gender splits, and monthly expense segmentation.