Middle East Prepaid Card and Digital Wallet Market Intelligence and Future Growth Dynamics Databook - Q1 2026 Update

Accelerated rollout of domestic payment schemes and merchant-cost reforms

• UAE: Emirates NBD and IDEMIA announced the “first Jaywan prepaid card” (Jaywan is the UAE’s domestic scheme), indicating domestic scheme readiness extending into prepaid use cases.
• Oman: The Central Bank of Oman approved a fee structure for the national “Maal” consumer debit and prepaid card, including zero issuance/reissuance/annual fees for customers and lower merchant acceptance costs (reported as up to ~50% reduction).
• Central banks are pushing domestic rails and price governance to improve acceptance economics and reduce reliance on external routing for everyday transactions; prepaid is a practical distribution instrument for these schemes.
• As domestic schemes mature (UAE Jaywan; Oman Maal), issuers will have stronger incentives to issue domestic-branded prepaid for everyday spend, not only for travel or gifting, especially if merchant pricing is structurally lower.

Shift to app-based prepaid issuance by exchange houses and banks

• UAE: Al Ansari Exchange introduced instant digital issuance for its prepaid TravelCard and FlexiblePay cards through its app, moving prepaid onboarding away from branch-only processes.
• Qatar: Commercial Bank launched a fully digital multicurrency Mastercard prepaid card (“CB Multi”) with application through the bank’s mobile app.
• Higher share of commerce and service journeys are initiated in-app; prepaid fits these flows when issuance and controls are digital (load, freeze, limits, replacement), lowering servicing overhead and increasing conversion.
• App issuance becomes baseline; prepaid programs that cannot issue digitally (or cannot manage controls in-app) will lose distribution leverage to banks/exchanges that can.

Growth in multi-currency prepaid tied to travel and cross-border spending

• Qatar: Commercial Bank’s multicurrency prepaid card explicitly targets travel spend management by enabling customers to load multiple currencies onto a single card.
• UAE: Exchange-house prepaid (e.g., Al Ansari’s TravelCard) continues to be positioned around travel/FX usage but is being distributed digitally.
• Cross-border spend remains structurally high in the GCC (travel and imported e-commerce). Multi-currency prepaid provides a controlled spend tool with clearer budgeting compared with open-ended credit.
• Issuers will keep expanding multi-currency capabilities, but with more emphasis on monitoring, limits, and dispute/chargeback handling to manage fraud and compliance exposure.

Corporate adoption of virtual card programs increases pressure on “prepaid-like” controls

• UAE: FAB and Mastercard launched a mobile-first virtual corporate card number (VCN) solution for enterprises and government entities, integrating virtual cards into mobile wallets and enabling programmatic controls.
• Qatar: QNB launched Mastercard VCN for corporate clients with single-use/multi-use virtual cards and merchant category controls.
• CFO priorities (auditability, spend control, reconciliation) are pushing corporates toward cash advances and manual reimbursements, away from controlled card rails that behave like configurable prepaid instruments.
• Competition shifts toward controls, policy configuration, and ERP/expense integration rather than plastic distribution; issuers without strong corporate tooling will partner with networks/processors.

Competitive Landscape of the Middle East Prepaid Card Market

• SAMA published a new “Guide to Financial Institutions Services Fees” (Dec 22, 2025) that replaces the Banking Tariff with a broader framework and states it enters into force within 60 days; this is relevant because pricing and disclosure constraints directly affect prepaid program economics and fee design.
• Federal Decree-Law No. (6) of 2025 (effective from mid-September 2025 per the CBUAE rulebook) expands and consolidates the licensed financial activities framework, explicitly including “stored value services” and retail payments/digital money services, raising the bar for governance and licensing alignment for entities underpinning prepaid and stored value models.

Current state of prepaid card

• Prepaid competition in the GCC is splitting into two tracks: domestic scheme-linked consumer prepaid (e.g., Jaywan in the UAE; Maal in Oman), and multicurrency/travel prepaid distributed digitally by banks and exchange houses. Recent launches show prepaid moving from “counter distribution” to “in-app issuance,” which changes unit economics and customer acquisition.
• At the same time, corporate virtual card programs are raising expectations for control features that overlap with prepaid program management (limits, merchant controls, single-use cards). This increases the pressure on issuers to compete on operating capability rather than card branding alone.

Key players and new entrants

• In the UAE, banks and infrastructure-linked players are positioning around domestic scheme readiness (e.g., Emirates NBD working with IDEMIA on Jaywan prepaid), while exchange networks like Al Ansari Exchange are defending share through app distribution and prepaid servicing.
• In Qatar, banks are expanding prepaid and virtual card capabilities (Commercial Bank’s digital multicurrency prepaid; QNB’s corporate VCN program). These moves indicate that “new capability launches” are often from incumbents upgrading their product stacks rather than from entirely new entrants from outside banking.

Recent partnerships

• Partnerships are being used to accelerate the rollout of domestic and advanced card capabilities: in the UAE, Emirates NBD partnered with IDEMIA on what was presented as the first Jaywan prepaid card, tying prepaid issuance to domestic scheme infrastructure and tokenization/secure issuance expertise.
• In corporate payments, partnerships with global networks are the primary route to deploy virtual card infrastructure at scale. FAB’s launch of Mastercard’s mobile-first VCN solution is a clear example, and it sets a benchmark likely to be replicated by other large banks in the region.

Merger and acquisitions

• Over the last 12 months, the most publicly visible competitive moves most directly tied to prepaid have been product launches and partnerships, rather than undisclosed M&A involving prepaid issuers/program managers. This suggests that regional players are prioritizing capability-building and scheme alignment over the consolidation of prepaid brands.
• If M&A does increase, it is more likely to appear in enabling layers (processing, program management, compliance tooling) than in consumer-facing prepaid propositions, because the near-term pressure points are execution speed, controls, and regulatory alignment. (No specific last-12-months prepaid M&A deals were found in the sources cited above.)

How the competitive landscape is expected to shape up (next 2-4 years), and the regulatory changes implemented in the last 12 months

• Saudi Arabia: SAMA published a new “Guide to Financial Institutions Services Fees” (Dec 22, 2025) that replaces the Banking Tariff with a broader framework and states it enters into force within 60 days; this is relevant because pricing and disclosure constraints directly affect prepaid program economics and fee design.
• UAE: Federal Decree-Law No. (6) of 2025 (effective from mid-September 2025 per the CBUAE rulebook) expands and consolidates the licensed financial activities framework, explicitly including “stored value services” and retail payments/digital money services, raising the bar for governance and licensing alignment for entities underpinning prepaid and stored value models.

Overview of Prepaid Cards and Digital Wallet Market

Prepaid Card Market Analysis

• Metrics Assessed: The study examines the prepaid card market through various lenses, including transaction value, transaction volume, average transaction value, load value, and the total number of cards in circulation.
• Card Types: A distinction is made between open-loop and closed-loop prepaid cards, providing insights into their respective market shares and growth trajectories.
• Usage Categories: The report segments the prepaid card market into various categories such as general-purpose cards, business and administrative expense cards, travel forex cards, and meal cards.
• Business Segmentation: Further segmentation is provided based on business size and type, including small-scale businesses, mid-tier businesses, enterprise-level businesses, government entities, and retail consumers.
• Sector-Specific Applications: The analysis extends to specific sectors utilizing prepaid cards, including transit and toll payments, healthcare and wellness services, social security and other government benefit programs, fuel purchases, utilities, and more.

Digital Wallet Market Insights

• Key Segments: The digital wallet market is dissected across five primary spending categories: retail shopping, travel, entertainment and gaming, dining establishments, and recharge and bill payments.
• Performance Metrics: For each segment, the report evaluates transaction value, transaction volume, and average transaction value, offering a granular view of consumer spending behaviors.
• Retail Spend Breakdown: An in-depth analysis is provided for retail spending via digital wallets, covering categories such as food and grocery, health and beauty products, apparel and footwear, books, music and video, consumer electronics, pharmacy and wellness, gas stations, restaurants and bars, toys, kids and baby products, services, and other miscellaneous categories.

Virtual Prepaid Card Market Segmentation

• Categories Analyzed: The virtual prepaid card market is segmented into key categories, including general-purpose cards, gift cards, entertainment and gaming cards, teen and campus cards, business and administrative expense cards, payroll cards, meal cards, travel forex cards, transit and toll cards, social security and other government benefit program cards, fuel cards, utilities, and other miscellaneous categories.
• Performance Evaluation: For each category, the report assesses transaction value, providing insights into the adoption and usage patterns of virtual prepaid cards across different consumer segments.

Consumer Usage Trends

The report delves into consumer behavior concerning prepaid cards, segmented by:

• Age Groups: Identifying usage patterns across different age demographics.
• Income Levels: Analyzing how income brackets influence prepaid card adoption and usage.
• Gender: Examining differences in usage trends between genders.

Report Scope

Prepaid Payment Instrument Market Size and Forecast

• Transaction Value Trend Analysis
• Transaction Volume Trend Analysis
• Average Value per Transaction
• Market Share Analysis by Prepaid Card vs. Digital Wallet

Digital Wallet Market Size and Forecast

• Transaction Value Trend Analysis
• Transaction Volume Trend Analysis
• Average Value per Transaction
• Market Share Analysis by Key Segments

Digital Wallet Market Size and Forecast by Key Segments

• Retail Shopping (Value, Volume, Avg. Value)
• Travel (Value, Volume, Avg. Value)
• Restaurant (Value, Volume, Avg. Value)
• Entertainment and Gaming (Value, Volume, Avg. Value)
• Recharge and Bill Payment (Value, Volume, Avg. Value)

Digital Wallet Retail Spend Dynamics

• Food and Grocery - Transaction Value
• Health and Beauty Products - Transaction Value
• Apparel and Foot Wear - Transaction Value
• Books, Music and Video - Transaction Value
• Consumer Electronics - Transaction Value
• Pharmacy and Wellness - Transaction Value
• Gas Stations - Transaction Value
• Restaurants & Bars - Transaction Value
• Toys, Kids, and Baby Products - Transaction Value
• Services - Transaction Value
• Others - Transaction Value

Prepaid Card Industry Market Attractiveness

• Load Value Trend Analysis
• Transaction Value Trend Analysis
• Transaction Volume Trend Analysis
• Average Value per Transaction
• Number of Cards
• Market Share Analysis by Functional Attributes - Open Loop vs. Closed Loop
• Market Share Analysis by Prepaid Card Categories

Open Loop Prepaid Card Future Growth Dynamics

• Transaction Value Trend Analysis
• Transaction Volume Trend Analysis
• Average Value per Transaction
• Number of Cards

Closed Loop Prepaid Card Future Growth Dynamics

• Transaction Value Trend Analysis
• Transaction Volume Trend Analysis
• Average Value per Transaction
• Number of Cards

Prepaid Card Consumer Usage Trends

• By Age Group
• By Income Group
• By Gender

Prepaid Card Retail Spend Dynamics

• Food and Grocery - Transaction Value
• Health and Beauty Products - Transaction Value
• Apparel and Foot Wear - Transaction Value
• Books, Music and Video - Transaction Value
• Consumer Electronics - Transaction Value
• Pharmacy and Wellness - Transaction Value
• Gas Stations - Transaction Value
• Restaurants & Bars - Transaction Value
• Toys, Kids, and Baby Products - Transaction Value
• Services - Transaction Value
• Others - Transaction Value

General Purpose Prepaid Card Market Size and Forecast

Gift Card Market Size and Forecast

Gift Card Market Size and Forecast by Functional Attribute

• By Open Loop Gift Card
• By Closed Loop Gift Card

Gift Card Market Size and Forecast by Consumer Segments

• By Retail Consumer Segment
• By Corporate Consumer Segment

Gift Card Market Share Analysis by Retail Categories

• Gift Card Market Share Analysis by Gifting Occasion
• Gift Card Market Share Analysis by Purchase Location

Entertainment and Gaming Prepaid Card Market Size and Forecast

Teen and Campus Prepaid Card Market Size and Forecast

Teen and Campus Prepaid Card Market Size and Forecast by Functional Attribute

• By Open Loop Teen and Campus Prepaid Card
• By Closed Loop Teen and Campus Prepaid Card

Business and Administrative Expense Prepaid Card Market Size and Forecast

Business and Administrative Expense Prepaid Card Market Size and Forecast by Consumer Segments

• By Small Scale Business Segment
• By Mid-Tier Business Segment
• By Enterprise Business Segment
• By Government Segment

Payroll Prepaid Card Market Size and Forecast

Payroll Prepaid Card Market Size and Forecast by Consumer Segments

• By Small Scale Business Segment
• By Mid-Tier Business Segment
• By Enterprise Business Segment
• By Government Segment

Meal Prepaid Card Market Size and Forecast

Meal Prepaid Card Market Size and Forecast by Consumer Segments

• By Small Scale Business Segment
• By Mid-Tier Business Segment
• By Enterprise Business Segment
• By Government Segment

Travel Forex Prepaid Card Market Size and Forecast

Travel Forex Prepaid Card Market Size and Forecast by Consumer Segments

• By Retail
• By Small Scale Business Segment
• By Mid-Tier Business Segment
• By Enterprise Business Segment
• By Government Segment

Transit and Tolls Prepaid Card Market Size and Forecast

Social Security and Other Government Benefit Programs Prepaid Card Market Size and Forecast

Fuel Prepaid Cards Market Size and Forecast

Utilities, and Other Prepaid Cards Market Size and Forecast

Virtual Prepaid Card Industry Market Attractiveness

• Transaction Value Trend Analysis
• Transaction Volume Trend Analysis
• Average Value per Transaction
• Market Share Analysis by Key Virtual Prepaid Card Categories

Virtual Prepaid Card Market Size by Key Categories

• General Purpose Prepaid Card - Transaction Value
• Gift Card - Transaction Value
• Entertainment and Gaming Prepaid Card - Transaction Value
• Teen and Campus Prepaid Card - Transaction Value
• Business and Administrative Expense Prepaid Card - Transaction Value
• Payroll Prepaid Card - Transaction Value
• Meal Prepaid Card - Transaction Value
• Travel Forex Prepaid Card - Transaction Value
• Transit and Tolls Prepaid Card - Transaction Value
• Social Security and Other Government Benefit Programs Prepaid Card - Transaction Value
• Fuel Prepaid Cards - Transaction Value
• Utilities, and Other Prepaid Cards - Transaction Value

Reasons to Buy

• In-depth understanding of Middle East’s prepaid card and digital wallet market dynamics: Gain a structured view of market opportunity, operating models, and competitive dynamics across 80+ segments and sub-segments, spanning prepaid cards (open-loop and closed-loop), digital wallets, wallet-linked prepaid credentials, and virtual prepaid cards. Analysis focuses on how stored value is issued, funded, used, and regulated in Middle East’s payments ecosystem.
• Understand Middle East’s market opportunities and key trends with forward-looking forecasts (2021-2030): Assess historical performance and future outlook for prepaid cards and digital wallets using core KPIs such as transaction value, transaction volume, active users, and average transaction value, with clear separation between consumer and commercial use cases and wallet-based versus card-based spend.
• Develop Middle East specific prepaid and digital wallet strategies: Identify high-growth segments and structurally resilient use cases to support market-entry, expansion, or optimisation strategies. Evaluate Middle East-specific drivers, constraints, and risks, including regulation, macroeconomic conditions, and adoption patterns, to inform realistic, market-aligned strategic decisions.
• Detailed analysis of Middle East’s market share by key players across prepaid and wallet categories: Understand competitive positioning through issuer and platform-level market share analysis across major prepaid card types, digital wallets, and virtual prepaid instruments. Coverage highlights how banks, fintechs, and wallet providers compete across funding sources, acceptance reach, and use case depth.
• Insights into Middle East’s consumer attitudes and payment behaviour: Analyse how consumers use prepaid cards, virtual prepaid cards, and digital wallets for everyday spend, e-commerce, subscriptions, and controlled payments. Understand behavioural shifts, frequency of use, and value per transaction to support ROI optimisation, product design, and targeted go-to-market strategies.