stc pay Bahrain Partners with GPS to Strengthen Digital Payment Infrastructure and Security

stc pay Bahrain has entered a strategic partnership with Global Payment Services (GPS) to bolster the Kingdom of Bahrain’s digital payment infrastructure, the companies said. The collaboration, announced April 15, 2026, is aimed at enhancing card and digital payment services by leveraging GPS’s "20+ years of payment processing expertise" to strengthen reliability, scalability and security across stc pay’s ecosystem and expand its interoperability with global payment networks.

"Our commitment at stc pay is to provide our customers with the most advanced and secure digital payment experience. This strategic partnership with GPS represents a significant investment in our core infrastructure. By leveraging their deep expertise, we are enhancing our card and digital payment services, ensuring they are not only seamless but also built on a foundation of unparalleled security and reliability for the future." – Metin Zavrak, CEO, stc pay

Context and details

The agreement positions GPS, a Bahrain-based payment infrastructure provider, as a key processing and card-personalization partner for stc pay Bahrain, the mobile wallet operator that markets itself as the country’s "most innovative and accessible mobile wallet for digital financial transactions." According to the announcement reported by TechAfrica News, the partnership will:

• Enhance card-processing and digital payment transaction handling across stc pay’s platform;
• Strengthen system reliability and scalability to support growing transaction volumes;
• Improve security posture for card and digital payments through GPS’s processing services;
• Extend stc pay’s interoperability with global card schemes and payment networks.

Ali Arab, General Manager of Global Payment Services, framed the deal as part of GPS’s broader move beyond its traditional banking client base. "The collaboration with stc pay highlights GPS’s continued evolution as a trusted digital payments partner. As we expand beyond our core banking client base, we are leveraging decades of expertise to deliver secure processing services of cards and the digital payments, alongside comprehensive card personalization solutions. Together, these capabilities reinforce our commitment to supporting the growth of innovative digital payment ecosystems." Arab said.

The partnership comes as stc pay continues to invest in what it calls a "secure, scalable, and world-class digital payment infrastructure for the Kingdom of Bahrain." By combining stc pay’s consumer-facing mobile wallet and GPS’s back-end processing and card personalization services, both firms aim to accelerate the rollout of more seamless card and digital payment experiences for individuals and merchants across Bahrain.

Outlook

For stc pay, the deal is positioned as an infrastructure-level investment to underpin future product launches and regional expansion of services, and to reinforce Bahrain’s ambition to be a leading fintech hub. For GPS, the partnership represents a strategic widening of its client base into consumer fintech platforms. Together, the companies say the collaboration will support the continued growth and innovation of Bahrain’s digital economy by delivering more resilient payment rails and broader interoperability with international payment networks.