Launched in 2023 under a Central Bank of Bahrain licence, stc pay has broadened from a consumer wallet into a service used for transfers, bill payments, card spend, remittances and payroll.
At Fintech Forward 2025 in Bahrain, the company kept a busy schedule – sponsoring the event, exhibiting on a stand and announcing two partnerships: with AlMoayed ICT, a Bahraini IT and systems integrator, to support reliability and scale; and with ARP Digital, a CBB-licensed digital-asset services provider, to add a digital-asset settlement component.
At the stc pay stand, CEO Metin Zavrak spoke with The Fintech Times about how far personalisation can be pushed in Bahrain and what a selective regional expansion in 2026 could look like.
What should people know about stc pay Bahrain?
stc pay is a subsidiary of stc Bahrain and one of the Kingdom’s leading mobile wallets, fully licensed by the Central Bank of Bahrain (CBB). Our platform offers for both consumers and corporates secure, fast, and convenient financial services including local and international money transfers, prepaid cards, bill payments, corporate cards, and payroll solutions, and exclusive offers.
What truly defines us is our role in financial inclusion. We have empowered thousands of low-income expatriates and unbanked individuals with affordable and user-friendly digital financial solutions. At the same time, our partnership with Mastercard has enabled global acceptance through our prepaid card in different tiers (Platinum, Elite and Elite Metal card), giving customers the ability to transact worldwide with added value.
Internationally, we are proud to be recognised as ‘Best Digital Mobile Wallet’ for two consecutive years by the International Finance Awards, a testament to our innovation and impact in shaping Bahrain’s fintech landscape.
The governor of CBB says Bahrain is leading the world in instant payments. Why do you think this is and what regional trends have you noticed?
Bahrain’s leadership in instant payments is the result of progressive regulation and the Central Bank of Bahrain’s forward-looking vision, which has created an environment where innovation can thrive while ensuring customer trust and security.
We see two key trends driving adoption:
- Everyday transactions: Customers expect cashless convenience whether shopping, paying bills or transferring money domestically. Because stc pay is widely used between customers in Bahrain, that allow us to build the stc pay to stc pay transfers instantly and free of charge, in addition to that, stc pay wallet issue instant virtual IBAN for the customer allowing him to send bank to bank transfers through our partnership with Khaleeji Commercial Bank.
- Cross-border remittances: Bahrain’s large expatriate community requires affordable, real-time international transfers. stc pay has addressed this need by enabling seamless global remittances to over 60 countries with competitive exchange rates, ensuring money reaches families instantly and securely.
This balance between local utility and global reach has positioned Bahrain and stc pay as leaders in instant digital payments.
Why is Bahrain an important market for stc and why does being licensed in Bahrain help your growth?
The stc group initiative is always to expand regionally and globally, specially where we know more about the market. After success in telecoms, we decided to build on this success story by launching stc pay.
Bahrain is a strategic market with one of the region’s most advanced regulatory frameworks for fintech. Being licensed by the CBB provides our customers with full confidence in the safety, compliance and reliability of our services.
This licence also allows us to innovate responsibly, from launching the Wage Protection System-compliant payroll service to offering instant IBANs for expatriates. By operating under one strong regulator, we can scale faster, build trust and introduce solutions that not only serve Bahrain but can be replicated across other markets.
What are your key takeaways from 2025?
The main lessons learned in 2025 are that customer support is one of the main success keys, customer experience allows the customer to shift from the traditional services to more digitally and security is one of the most important matters for customers.
Building on these, 2025 was a milestone year for us, with several achievements worth highlighting:
- Processing more than 30 million transactions valued at over BHD1billion, demonstrating strong adoption
- Winning the Best Digital Mobile Wallet award for the second consecutive year
- Expanding our international remittance corridors, particularly through partnerships with Mastercard cross-border payments, Hello Paisa, Terra pay, Ria and EzRemit
- Growing our corporate payroll services with over 100 companies now enrolled under our WPS-compliant solution.
The main lesson we learned is the importance of constant innovation, whether through AI, digital onboarding, or user experience, to keep pace with evolving consumer expectations.
Looking forward to 2026, what is on the horizon? What do you think will be the key talking points?
2026 will be a year of expanding to other markets regionally, and for the Bahrain market, personalisation and expansion. We are integrating AI more deeply into our services, not just for fraud prevention but also to offer smarter, more personalised financial recommendations.
Regionally, we are focused on expanding our international footprint through new remittance partnerships and payment corridors, while continuing to strengthen our local offering with innovative card products, family solutions, and corporate services.
Our vision is to cement stc pay’s role as the gateway between local financial needs and global financial access, helping Bahrain remain at the forefront of fintech innovation.
What brings you to Fintech Forward and what do you enjoy about the event?
Fintech Forward brings together global leaders, regulators, innovators, and investors in one place. For us, it is an opportunity to showcase Bahrain’s success story through stc pay, exchange knowledge and explore partnerships that accelerate innovation in the fintech space.
What we particularly value is the ability to connect with both local and international stakeholders, highlighting Bahrain as a hub for digital financial services and stc pay as one of its flagship players.
Finally, what else should we know about your story?
I would emphasise that stc pay’s story is not just about technology, but about impact. By empowering low-income expatriates with instant IBANs and secure payroll services, by enabling families to access cashback and global card benefits, and by providing businesses with cost-saving corporate tools, we are contributing directly to Bahrain’s economic vision of a digital and cashless society.
Our partnerships with banks and financial institutions, such as Khaleeji Bank for virtual IBANs and Mastercard for global card and remittance solutions, reflect our openness to collaborate with any institution that supports customer needs. Ultimately, our role is to make financial services accessible, secure and rewarding for everyone.
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