This weekend’s action-packed season-opening Bahrain GP delivered an epic increase in spends. Data shared in the annual Transaction Index published by Arab Financial Services (AFS), the Middle East and Africa region’s leading digital payment solutions provider and fintech enabler, compared the year-on-year difference in spends during the F1 week, recording a 66% surge in payments spends during the recently concluded 2024 F1 Gulf Air Bahrain Grand Prix. The accelerated spends also reflects an increase of 78% in international spends as the race marked its 20th anniversary in the Kingdom of Bahrain this year and successfully garnered even greater global appeal.

Samer Soliman, the CEO of Arab Financial Services (AFS), commented: “The Bahrain Grand Prix ignites excitement for both residents and international visitors. AFS Transaction Index data shows a sharp rise in spending by foreign issued card during race week, highlighting the event's significant economic impact.”

While the overall number of transactions surged, visitors from Qatar, Singapore, Oman, Kuwait, and the US particularly fueled this growth. Beyond the overall surge, Saudi Arabian visitors kept the lead position as the race week's top spenders by value, followed by the US, Kuwait, Qatar, and the UAE.

AFS is the Middle East and Africa region’s leading digital payment solutions provider and fintech enabler. Regulated by The Central Bank of Bahrain, and majority-owned by Bank ABC, AFS boasts numerous ground-breaking end-to-end digital payment services and solutions. These span debit, credit, and Islamic card processing, merchant acquiring, fintech, and a suite of state-of-the-art value-added services. Providing the highest quality payments solutions that are trusted by businesses, AFS has offices and data centers in Bahrain, Egypt, Oman, and the UAE. Its dedication to innovation has positioned AFS as a driving market force delivering a rich portfolio of payment solutions including its Open Banking hub, popular digital mobile wallets, market-leading merchant acquiring services, Bahrain’s leading digital payroll solution, global contact centers and more.