Arab Financial Services (AFS), a leading force in digital payments across the Middle East and Africa, has strategically expanded its footprint in Egypt with the inauguration of a brand-new data center. This investment marks a significant step forward for AFS in the Egyptian market, fuelling their growth trajectory in two key ways: Accelerated Expansion, the secure and reliable data center empowers AFS to rapidly scale their business operations within Egypt and Enhanced Reach, building on their established presence since 2022, AFS can now extend their trusted payment processing services to a wider range of Egyptian businesses, banks, and financial institutions.

AFS boasts an impressive track record, currently serving over 60 banks in more than 20 countries across the Middle East and Africa by offering advances payment solutions, and this new data center positions AFS to become a dominant player in the Egyptian market.

“For four decades, AFS has been a driving force in payments technology, pioneering innovative digital solutions that empower businesses, banks, and consumers throughout the Middle East and Africa,” said Samer Soliman, CEO of Arab Financial Services. “Our new Cairo data center represents a strategic leap forward. It provides a robust and scalable foundation for our existing merchant acquiring business, while simultaneously serving as a platform for our comprehensive issuer payment processing services in Egypt. This investment underscores our commitment to the dynamic Egyptian market. We aim to be a key partner in the banking sector's digital transformation by delivering agile, secure, and seamless payment solutions that unlock new opportunities for all stakeholders.”

AFS’s portfolio of payments processing products and services includes versatile card solutions such as credit, debit, prepaid, contactless, virtual, and tokenized cards, and ATM Driving and switch. It also includes commercial and shariah compliant cards, digital wallets, and gift cards, ensuring convenience and security in every payment. AFS’s USP also includes optimizing business performance with state-of-the-art security features such as real time fraud monitoring, data streaming and data analytics, and 24/7 operational and customer support.

Tawfik Mahmoud, Managing Director of AFS Egypt said, “We are committed to investing in the country’s technology infrastructure and its human talent. Building on the capabilities that this new data center affords our business, AFS’s human capital investment is a priority that will set the pace for our accelerated growth across business lines in Egypt. Our workforce is estimated to reach almost 300 Egyptian payments professionals by year-end, and this will cement AFS’s reputation for delivering the best experiences and highest quality payments expertise for our customers.”

The launch of this innovative data center, complemented with a Primary Disaster Recovery (DR) site featuring the latest payment applications – switch, card management system, and more is part of AFS’s ongoing dedication to industry-leading infrastructure and advance technologies that further solidifies its position as the preferred partner for Egyptian businesses and underscores the critical importance they place on the Egyptian market.

Regulated by the Central Bank of Bahrain & The Central Bank of Egypt, AFS is owned by a total of 37 banks and financial institutions and serves over 60 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 merchant groups. AFS’s innovative approach to the provision of financial services is evidenced by a series of market-leading payment services that span card processing services, merchant acquiring, fintech solutions and value-added services.