Ammon News - finextra - Emerging Markets Payments (EMP), the leading electronic payments processing company in the Middle East and Africa, and Middle East Payment Services (MEPS), a leading payment services provider in the Levant, announced today the signing of an agreement to provide a unified Point-of-Sale (POS) service across Jordan.
This collaboration will allow the two companies to work together to further enhance electronic payment offerings in the Jordanian market.

According to Paul Edwards, Chairman of EMP Group, "This agreement aims at providing better service to cardholders and merchants by providing a single POS terminal that will accept all major card schemes. This will greatly help overcome the challenge faced by merchants, as they will no longer require multiple POS terminals to cover all card schemes and acquirers. This saves unnecessary costs and is also more convenient for cardholders."

Dr Abdul Malik Al Jaber, Chairman of MEPS, believes that, "Jordan enjoys a very strong banking sector supported by a solid regulatory environment. However, the rate of card usage compared to card issuance is relatively low. EMP and MEPS believe that by combining their POS fleet, under EMP's management, they will provide a better experience for both merchants and cardholders. This is expected to positively reflect on card usage rates". According to Dr. Al Jaber, Jordan is the hub of MEPS' operations; the company currently also operates in Iraq and Palestine and plans to expand soon to North Africa.

"MEPS is well aware that e-commerce, which is forecast to reach USD 16 billion by 2015, poses huge potential for the e-payment industry. MEPS is committed to providing the Jordanian and regional markets with innovative and secure online and mobile payment solutions that cater to the needs of all parties within the payment cycle," said Izdehar Safarini, Deputy CEO of MEPS. "We believe that our partnership with EMP will positively impact MEPS' operations, as well as the entire e-payment sector in Jordan."

The agreement signed between is for a term of seven years, during which EMP will be responsible for deployment and management of the unified fleet of POS terminals, including the provision of maintenance and all logistics relating to POS field services. MEPS and EMP will aalso partner in providing value added services, including e-voucher, bill payments and e-commerce services.

"Electronic payment solutions are gaining tremendous popularity among industry players and consumers alike. We are delighted to collaborate with MEPS and believe that similar strategic partnerships are paramount to the development of the payments industry," said Mr. Hassan Mayassi, CEO of EMP Jordan. "This agreement also provides for upgrading the current terminal fleet, which will further improve the services offered to both carholders and merchants. As the leading outsourced services provider in the region, we are confident that this agreement will allow access to best-in-class solutions."

"Jordan has become one of the largest acquiring markets in the Middle East and Africa, after South Africa, Nigeria and the Gulf. EMP is investing heavily in building its capability and range of services in Jordan, as well as expanding our services into neighbouring countries, such as Iraq and Palestine," said Mayassi.