Riyadh, Saudi Arabia —
Tapping into its fast-growing SMEs landscape, Xpence – the leading financial management platform with integrated Visa card solutions across the Middle East, North Africa, and Pakistan regions – announces a new strategic partnership with the Global Financial Digital Solutions Company, neoleap. This collaboration aims to bring Xpence’s innovative solutions and services to Saudi Arabia.
Under this partnership, Xpence will extend its services in the Saudi market, enabling SMEs and corporate customers with its spend management platform that integrates with Visa cards.
Moreover, this mutual partnership will empower neoleap with other technologies to widen their offerings and services to more clients in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. On the other hand, it will also allow Xpence to be active in other key GCC markets, including Kuwait and Qatar.
Xpence is a part of the Visa Fintech Fast track Programme, equipping its partners with a wide range of tools and expertise for real-time, cutting-edge e-payment solutions and services.
Through its integration with Visa payment cards, Xpence offers a broad spectrum of services, including physical and virtual employee expense cards, seamless digital invoicing, multi-currency wallets, and the automation of payment processing.
Xpence is set to expand its services to the Saudi market, marking its third strategic expansion. The platform is already operational in Bahrain and the UAE.
The Saudi card payments market is projected to grow by 14.60% in 2023 to reach $141.90 billion. This growth is driven mainly by an increased preference for e-payments, a rise in contactless payments, and the government’s push towards a cashless society.
Saudi Arabia also boasts the highest adoption of contactless payments via Near-Field Communication (NFC) at 94%, surpassing both the European Union average and countries like Hong Kong and Canada.
Emerging as a hub for innovation, Saudi Arabia’s SMEs ecosystem also saw growth of 2.6% in the 2Q of 2023, with the number of SMEs hitting 1.23 million, compared to 1.2 million in the first quarter, according to Saudi official data.
Zain Ansari, Xpence Co-Founder & Chief Commercial Officer commented: “Our groundbreaking partnership with neoleap marks a pivotal moment for Xpence. This collaboration is not merely about expanding our footprint in Saudi Arabia; it signifies a shared vision, a fusion of cutting-edge technology, and a commitment to revolutionise the SMEs landscape across the region, including in Kuwait, Qatar, and Oman”.
“While our journey with the Fintech Saudi Accelerator in 2022 laid a strong foundation, its collaborations like these that propel us forward. As we align ourselves with the Kingdom’s Vision 2030, we’re more motivated than ever to deliver innovative payment solutions that empower businesses in Saudi Arabia and beyond”, Ansari added.
For his part, neoleap’s CEO, Mr. Ziyad AlEisa said: “As we take part in realising Saudi 2030 vision, we are excited to partner with Xpence to bring our innovative products and services to a wider audience, to meet their needs in a more efficient and convenient way. We strongly believe that by working together, we can transform the financial technology sector with great force.”
