5 October 2026
NEOPAY, the UAE payments company majority-owned by Arcapita and DgPays, has signed a definitive agreement to acquire a 65% controlling stake in noon payments, the payments business of the regional e-commerce group noon. The deal was announced on Monday, 5 October 2026. It combines NEOPAY’s merchant acquiring and omnichannel payment acceptance with noon payments’ embedded payments platform, e-commerce gateway and merchant network in the UAE, Saudi Arabia and Egypt. The price was not disclosed, and completion is subject to regulatory and antitrust approvals. For NEOPAY, which was spun out of Mashreq in 2022, the deal is a move into Saudi Arabia and Egypt.
What NEOPAY and noon payments agreed
The agreement is a definitive one, which means the parties have signed binding terms rather than a memorandum of understanding. NEOPAY will take 65% of noon payments, a controlling stake. The announcement does not disclose the purchase price or the holder of the remaining 35%. Completion remains subject to customary conditions precedent, including the applicable regulatory and antitrust approvals, and no closing date has been announced.
The business logic is a combination of two halves of payment acceptance. NEOPAY brings in-store acquiring, card processing, point-of-sale infrastructure and merchant services. noon payments brings an embedded payments platform built inside an e-commerce ecosystem, an online payment gateway and an established merchant base of marketplace sellers and online shops across three countries.
Vibhor Mundhada, CEO of NEOPAY, called the agreement “an important milestone” and said the acquisition will “reinforce our leadership in the UAE, expand our footprint into Saudi Arabia and Egypt”. Faraz Khalid, CEO of noon, said that NEOPAY “brings deep local expertise and strong infrastructure” and that the two businesses together can help merchants grow and make paying easier for customers across the region.
Who is behind NEOPAY
NEOPAY was launched by Mashreq in 2022 as a standalone payments business. Its services cover merchant acquiring, card processing, payment gateways and point-of-sale infrastructure. In 2024, Arcapita and DgPays agreed to acquire a majority stake in NEOPAY from Mashreq in a transaction that valued the company at about USD 385 million (around AED 1.41 billion). Mashreq completed the sale in January 2025 and kept a significant minority stake.
At the time of that deal, NEOPAY reported the following scale in the UAE:
| Indicator | Value |
|---|---|
| Transactions processed in 2023 | More than 400 million |
| Merchants using NEOPAY in the UAE | More than 10,000 |
| Annual processed payment volume | More than USD 30 billion (around AED 110 billion) |
| Valuation in the Mashreq stake sale | About USD 385 million (around AED 1.41 billion) |
When the Mashreq sale closed, the bank said the partnership would help NEOPAY scale its operations, enter new markets and expand its services across the Middle East. The noon payments deal takes it into two new markets at once.
What noon payments brings
noon payments is the payments arm of noon, the e-commerce group founded by Mohamed Alabbar. It has grown alongside the noon marketplace and has integrations with marketplace sellers and online merchants in the UAE, Saudi Arabia and Egypt. NEOPAY describes this as high transaction density in some of the fastest-growing digital commerce segments in the region.
For noon, the transaction moves its payments business closer to a dedicated regional payments infrastructure provider, while noon keeps its broader e-commerce ecosystem. For NEOPAY, it means access to additional merchant relationships and payment flows in Saudi Arabia and Egypt.
What the combined business plans to offer merchants
According to NEOPAY, after completion the combined business will focus on the following areas:
- One proposition for online payment acceptance and in-store acquiring, so a merchant can take cards at the counter and on the website with one provider.
- Faster settlements to the merchant’s account.
- Faster merchant onboarding.
- Alternative payment methods and instalment options.
- Payment performance and fraud prevention capabilities.
- Data, analytics and embedded financial services for merchants.
- Cross-border payments and settlement across major regional commerce corridors.
These are the stated directions of the combined business. Specific products, fees and timelines have not been announced and will depend on completion of the deal.
What it means for companies in the UAE
The deal comes as digital payments and merchant acquiring become a larger part of the UAE financial services market. For companies that accept card payments, three practical points follow.
Merchants already on noon payments or NEOPAY
Until completion, the two businesses remain separate and the announcement sets no date for changes to merchant contracts, fees or settlement. If you accept payments through either provider, keep an eye on official notices from your account manager about any migration, new terms or changes to settlement accounts after the deal closes.
Companies selling in Saudi Arabia and Egypt
The stated aim of the deal is to let one provider serve merchants across channels and across the UAE, Saudi Arabia and Egypt. For a UAE company that sells online into these markets, this is a reason to compare offers on multi-country acceptance and cross-border settlement once the combined product is live, rather than running separate gateways in each country.
New companies setting up card acceptance
Payment service providers in the UAE are licensed by the Central Bank of the UAE under the Retail Payment Services and Card Schemes Regulation, issued as Circular C 15/2021 and in force since 6 June 2021. Before a provider can open a merchant account, it usually asks for a trade licence with activities that match what you sell, a corporate bank account for settlement and, for online payments, a working website with clear terms, refund and privacy policies. The licence and the bank account are the two steps that take most of the time for a new company.
Checklist before you choose a payment provider in the UAE:
- Confirm the provider is licensed by the Central Bank of the UAE for the services you need.
- Compare the merchant discount rate for local and international cards, plus any fixed fees per transaction.
- Check the settlement period and the currency of settlement to your corporate account in AED.
- Ask whether one contract covers in-store terminals, online checkout and payment links.
- If you sell abroad, check acceptance and settlement in Saudi Arabia, Egypt and other target markets.
- Make sure the activities on your trade licence cover the goods or services you will charge for.
How Atlant Capital can help
A payment gateway or a card terminal starts with two things: a trade licence with the right activities and a corporate bank account to receive settlements. Atlant Capital handles both. Through our company setup service we select the free zone or mainland jurisdiction and the activities that match your sales model, including e-commerce. Through our bank account opening service we prepare the file for the bank and support you through compliance, so that settlement from your acquirer has a home from day one. Our UAE bank account opening guide explains the documents and timelines in detail, and our article on PhonePe’s Central Bank approval for two UAE payment licences shows how payment licensing in the UAE works for providers.
Conclusion
NEOPAY has signed a definitive agreement for 65% of noon payments, bringing together a UAE acquirer with more than 10,000 local merchants and an e-commerce payments platform active in the UAE, Saudi Arabia and Egypt. The price is undisclosed and the deal still needs regulatory and antitrust approvals. For merchants, nothing changes until completion; after that, the combined business plans one offer for in-store and online acceptance across three markets, with faster settlement, instalments and cross-border capabilities.
Source: Gulf News.
FAQ
What stake is NEOPAY buying in noon payments?
NEOPAY has signed a definitive agreement to acquire a 65% controlling stake in noon payments, the payments business of the e-commerce group noon. The deal was announced on 5 October 2026. The purchase price has not been disclosed.
Who owns NEOPAY?
NEOPAY was launched by Mashreq in 2022. Arcapita and DgPays acquired a majority stake from Mashreq in a deal that valued the company at about USD 385 million (around AED 1.41 billion), completed in January 2025. Mashreq kept a significant minority stake.
When will the NEOPAY and noon payments deal close?
No closing date has been announced. Completion is subject to customary conditions, including regulatory and antitrust approvals. Until then, NEOPAY and noon payments operate as separate businesses.
Which countries will the combined NEOPAY and noon payments business cover?
The combined business will serve merchants in the UAE, Saudi Arabia and Egypt, the markets where noon payments already has an e-commerce gateway and merchant network. NEOPAY currently works with more than 10,000 merchants in the UAE.
