Mastercard and Arab Financial Services (AFS) have launched corporate credit and prepaid cards integrated with AFS’s business payments app, AFS Pro, starting in the UAE with a rollout to Egypt to follow, the companies . The launch is AFS’s first major UAE product move since it entered the market in June with a Central Bank licence, and it is the third Mastercard-linked corporate card launch aimed at UAE businesses so far this year.
AFS Pro combines corporate card issuance with a wider payments toolkit: spending controls, real-time transaction monitoring, SoftPOS tap-to-phone acceptance, Pay-by-Link for remote transactions, and consolidated tracking of payables and receivables in one dashboard. The companies said the offering is built for rapid deployment by financial institutions, rather than a direct-to-business product built from scratch.
AFS’s first UAE launch since its licence
AFS is a 40-year-old payments processor based in Bahrain, owned by 37 banks and financial institutions and regulated by the Central Bank of Bahrain. It after securing a Retail Payment Services Category II licence from the Central Bank of the UAE, backed by $150 million in funding. This Mastercard partnership is the first product launch built on that licence, roughly two months after AFS secured it.
Dr Samer Soliman, group chief executive of AFS, said: “As a leader in corporate payments and digital transformation, Mastercard is our trusted partner in our expansion into the two new key growth markets. Our landmark alliance is a major win for businesses in the UAE and Egypt, as it significantly boosts efficiency, visibility and control over corporate spending.”
Mete Guney, executive vice president for market development, EEMEA at Mastercard, said: “At Mastercard, we are committed to equipping companies of all sizes with innovative tools that empower them to reach their full potential in today’s rapidly changing economic landscape. We look forward to working closely with AFS to provide businesses with a scalable, digital-first corporate payments solution that delivers meaningful value.”
A crowded field for Mastercard-linked corporate cards
This is not Mastercard’s first UAE business-card launch this year. in May 2026, aimed at helping smaller businesses manage operating expenses and working capital. KamelPay launched its own Mastercard-powered corporate card, AbsoluteCard, in July, pairing the card with virtual IBANs and an approvals portal distributed through banks and exchange houses.
Neither Mastercard nor AFS disclosed customer numbers, transaction volumes or a rollout timeline for Egypt. The UAE’s corporate card and spend-management space already has established software-first competitors, including Pemo, Pluto and Qashio, serving small and medium-sized businesses directly. Where AFS Pro is positioned to compete is distribution: banks and financial institutions integrating a ready-made card programme, rather than businesses signing up directly.
The broader corporate card market was valued at roughly $47.7 billion globally in 2026, according to Coherent Market Insights, though that figure spans all regions and does not isolate Gulf demand specifically.
Neither company has said how AFS Pro’s bank-distribution model will be measured against the direct-to-business platforms already operating in the same market, or what take-up looks like once the product moves from launch to live use.
