Investor relations | Arab Financial Services

Our story

At AFS we empower the region’s business and banking communities, end-users and consumers with customized payments technologies and solutions.

Regulated by the Central Bank of Bahrain and licensed by the Central Bank of Egypt and the Central Bank of UAE, AFS is owned by a total of 37 banks and financial institutions and serves over 60 bank clients in more than 20 countries across the Middle East and Africa region.

The company provides numerous ground-breaking end-to-end digital payment products, services and solutions to banks and businesses. These include card processing services, merchant acquiring, fintech solutions and value-added services.

Our dedication to payments innovation and delivering cutting-edge payments technology has propelled AFS to become a market leader.

We are committed to being the leading enabler for digital transaction transformation and we offer unique, future-driven payments experiences.

We fast-track payments innovation and make superior digital payments experiences a more accessible, secure, convenient, and seamless reality, regionally.

Our board of directors

Guiding our vision and strategy.

Mr. Sael Al Waary

Chairman

Dr. Fakher Buferna

Director

Mr. Maher Kaddoura

Director

Mr. Musab M. Msallem

Director

Mr. Suresh Padmanabhan

Director

Mr. Siegfried Heimgaertner

Director

Dr. Yousif Almas

Director

Latest news & announcements

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Partnership

Jan 15, 2026

2 min read

Comera Pay, the Digital Payments Arm of Comera Financial Holdings, a subsidiary of the Royal Group, Launches Merchant Acquiring Payment Solutions in the UAE with AFS as Processing Partner.

Comera Pay, the digital payments division of Comera Financial Holdings, a subsidiary of Royal Group, has officially launched its payment solution in the UAE, in collaboration with Arab Financial Services (AFS). This collaboration aims to empower businesses across the country with modern, secure, and scalable payment acceptance tools.The newly launched solution is tailored for businesses of all sizes, from small retailers to large enterprises. It supports a wide range of payment methods including chip and PIN, contactless cards, payment gateway service, mobile wallets, and QR payments. The solution also integrates key operational features such as real-time transaction tracking, daily settlement summaries, and seamless reconciliation making it a complete business enablement tool, not just a payment device.This initiative reinforces Comera Pay’s commitment to simplifying finance through technology. Known for its digital wallet, remittance services, and growing suite of financial offerings, Comera Pay is now extending its reach into merchant services enabling business owners to accept payments more efficiently while enhancing customer experience at the point of sale.Akhtar Saeed Hashmi, Managing Director & Group CEO of Comera Financial Holdings, stated: “This launch marks a new chapter in our journey to build a fully connected financial ecosystem. Our payment solution is designed to serve the evolving needs of businesses in today’s digital-first marketplace, with simplicity, speed, and security at its core.”AFS CEO, Samer Soliman, said: “I am excited about this partnership, which is the perfect match of Comera Pay’s fresh thinking and AFS’s established reach. Agility only truly works when you have the scale to back it up., and by bringing our organisations together, we’re giving our clients a real edge with faster, borderless connectivity across the region.”With AFS it ensures enterprise-grade infrastructure and regulatory compliance, backed by decades of experience in merchant acquiring and digital payment innovation across the MENA region. Together, the two companies are setting a new standard for digital payment acceptance in the UAE.This rollout is part of a broader strategic vision to offer integrated financial services that include payments, SME lending, supply chain finance, and value-added merchant solutions. Backed by the strength and trust of Royal Group, Comera Pay is uniquely positioned to scale across the region with both credibility and innovation.The launch of the payment process solution is the first step in a larger roadmap that includes loyalty integrations, merchant credit lines, and full-service business support all within one seamless digital platform.

Announcement

Jan 05, 2025

2 min read

AFS Launches SoftPOS (Tap-to-Phone) Solution Across Egypt Following CBE License

Arab Financial Services (AFS), A premier digital payment and fintech solutions provider in the Middle East and Africa, is pleased to announce that its Egyptian subsidiary has received a SoftPOS license from the Central Bank of Egypt (CBE). This regulatory approval has enabled the company to launch the service nationwide, making AFS Egypt one of the first in the country to bring a fully licensed SoftPOS solution to market.The AFS SoftPOS solution transforms any NFC-enabled smartphone into a secure, fully functional payment terminal, eliminating the need for expensive hardware. It offers businesses a quick, cost-effective, and highly scalable way to accept payments. By supporting all contactless cards, it is the ideal tool to meet the growing demands of Egypt's digital economy.“Going live with SoftPOS in Egypt is a transformative milestone for AFS and the Egyptian market,” said Samer Soliman, CEO of AFS. “This fully licensed solution allows us to instantly turn any NFC-enabled Android smartphone into a secure payment terminal, eliminating hardware costs and making digital acceptance accessible to businesses of all sizes. We view this launch as the foundation, and our immediate plan is to continuously expand its feature set and introduce innovative use cases that will further accelerate financial inclusion and power a digitally empowered economy”.The launch aligns directly with Egypt's remarkable growth in mobile payment adoption. AFS’s solution makes it easier than ever for businesses to accept payments, simplifying digital commerce and building a more accessible and inclusive financial landscape for all.

Partnership

Dec 10, 2025

2 min read

AFS and RestHero Partner to Deploy Integrated Digital Solutions Across MEA's Restaurant Sector

Arab Financial Services (AFS), the region's leading digital payment processor and fintech enabler, today announced a potential strategic engagement with RestHero, a specialized restaurant technology platform through the signing of a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU).The engagement marks another step in AFS’s strategy to accelerate fintech innovation and expand digital capabilities across the region.The MOU establishes a framework for the parties to explore offering RestHero’s technology across the region’s Food & Beverage (F&B) sector, enabling merchants across the Middle East and Africa (MEA) to adopt seamless digital commerce channels. This contributes to the wider digital evolution of the region’s F&B industry, supporting merchants as they shift to more modern and scalable commerce models.This partnership moves beyond simple payment acceptance. It gives F&B merchants a direct channel to capture higher-margin sales, reduce dependence on third-party aggregators, and retain more control over their customer relationships.By combining AFS’s secure payment infrastructure with RestHero’s digital ordering, loyalty, and social commerce capabilities, the collaboration will offer merchants a unified platform to manage their online channels, consolidate operational and payment data, and coordinate customer interactions more efficiently. This practical integration helps restaurants streamline day-to-day operations, reduce manual work, and deliver a more consistent experience across every customer touchpoint, including social media.Mr. Samer Soliman, CEO of Arab Financial Services, commented: “Our commitment is clear: we are a pivotal enabler of promising fintech ventures across this region. This proposed strategic investment in RestHero is not merely a partnership; it is a profound step in building the future of regional F&B. By combining their sophisticated digital ordering and social commerce tools with AFS's established, secure payment network, we are creating a single, powerful ecosystem. This allows our merchant partners to instantly pivot to higher revenue capture and minimize operational friction, securing their growth trajectory in an increasingly digital consumer landscape.”Dr. Abdulla Al Shimmari, CEO of RestHero, added: “The investment and partnership with AFS is a transformative endorsement of RestHero's proprietary technology. By seamlessly integrating our dynamic customer engagement platform with their trusted, high-volume payment rails, we've unlocked a unique value proposition for F&B merchants. This unified infrastructure allows our partners to finally leverage real-time data for personalized marketing, achieving faster scale and gaining a definitive competitive edge in a rapidly evolving digital market.”Together, AFS and RestHero will continue exploring opportunities outlined in the MOU to support F&B merchants in strengthening their digital capabilities and enhancing operational efficiency across the region.

Announcement

Dec 2, 2025

2 min read

160 Percent Payment Growth Drives Major Success for AFS at Jewellery Arabia 2025

AFS delivered a standout performance at Jewellery Arabia 2025, supporting seamless digital payments across the five-day event and recording one of the strongest years in terms of both domestic and international activity. According to the AFS Index, overall daily payments volumes processed during the exhibition grew by more than 160 percent, driven largely by a surge in international visitors and consistently strong purchasing power from the local community.International spending played a major role in this year’s growth, reflecting the global appeal of the exhibition. The highest transaction volumes came from visitors within the GCC region, with buyers from Saudi Arabia contributing the largest share of international payments, followed by significant inflows from Qatar, the United Arab Emirates, Kuwait, and Oman. Beyond the Gulf, the event drew a diverse mix of luxury shoppers from North and Central America, Europe, East Asia, Central and South Asia, and other Near and Middle Eastern markets. Notable activity came from the United States, Switzerland, the United Kingdom, Hong Kong, Mainland China, Jordan, Malaysia, and India, showing the extensive international reach of the event.Transaction activity was equally strong, with tens of thousands of secure card payments flowing through AFS’s acquiring infrastructure. Premium cardholders in particular showed high engagement, reflecting the luxury positioning of the exhibition and the confidence visitors placed in the reliability of AFS’s payment network.Samer Soliman, Chief Executive Officer of AFS, offered key insights into the results and strategic value: Our success at Jewellery Arabia demonstrates how advanced, reliable payment infrastructure adds significant strategic value to high-volume events. This year, the integration of the ASB Pay Business application was crucial, allowing merchants to accept payments quickly and flexibly directly on their mobile devices. We're proud to deliver this blend of advanced technology, seamless acquiring, and trusted security, significantly improving the experience for both exhibitors and buyers. AFS remains dedicated to powering Bahrain’s retail sector with world-class technology and robust digital capabilities.The combination of a strong international presence, elevated spending levels, and steady local demand made this year’s Jewellery Arabia one of the most commercially successful editions to date. AFS’s ability to process high-value, high-volume transactions with speed and security once again reinforces its position as the trusted digital payments partner for Bahrain’s flagship events and the wider region.

Building trust and driving value

At AFS we empower the region’s business and banking communities, end-users and consumers with customized payments technologies and solutions.

Guiding our vision and strategy.

Mr. Sael Al Waary

Dr. Fakher Buferna

Mr. Maher Kaddoura

Mr. Musab M. Msallem

Mr. Suresh Padmanabhan

Mr. Siegfried Heimgaertner

Dr. Yousif Almas

Ensuring transparency with unrestricted access to key documents and statements.

Shareholders’ rights to participate and vote

Shareholder list

AFS Corporate Governance Charter

Latest news & announcements

Comera Pay, the Digital Payments Arm of Comera Financial Holdings, a subsidiary of the Royal Group, Launches Merchant Acquiring Payment Solutions in the UAE with AFS as Processing Partner.

AFS Launches SoftPOS (Tap-to-Phone) Solution Across Egypt Following CBE License

AFS and RestHero Partner to Deploy Integrated Digital Solutions Across MEA's Restaurant Sector

160 Percent Payment Growth Drives Major Success for AFS at Jewellery Arabia 2025

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