In another significant step to drive cashless payments in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, Saudi Post, the Kingdom's public postal services entity, and Mastercard, a leading technology company in the global payments industry, have announced a collaboration aimed at driving and enabling card payment acceptance for Saudi Post customers across physical in-store as well as online channels. As part of the collaboration, Mastercard's professional services arm – Mastercard Advisors – will provide consultation services to Saudi Post. Dr. Usamah Altaf, Acting President and CEO, Saudi Post, said that the recent surge in e-commerce transactions in the Kingdom makes the collaboration a vital and timely move. "The payment landscape in the Kingdom is witnessing a strong increase in e-commerce transactions, driven by the vast growth of e-government and e-commerce initiative. A growing number of customers now prefer to have their items shipped from other parts of the world, and many prefer paying by card. Our collaboration with Mastercard Advisors will help us strengthen our cashless infrastructure and stay at pace with this rapidly evolving segment of e-commerce and electronic payments. This will, in turn, contribute to the efficiency of our operational model and help us enhance the overall customer experience." "As a public government corporation, Saudi Post is dedicated to continuously aligning its goals with Saudi Arabia's Vision 2030, which among other key objectives, focuses on facilitating the Kingdom's digital transformation. Our collaboration with Mastercard is set to serve as a strategic step in that direction, through which we can actively contribute to the Kingdom's long-term economic growth," Dr. Altaf added. Khalid Elgibali, Division President for Middle East and North Africa, Mastercard, said: "Mastercard is committed to working closely with key partners in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia to drive cash displacement and expedite the adoption of cashless transactions across all payment channels. Mastercard Advisors has a proven record in helping organizations optimize transaction data, deepen their understanding of consumer behavior and boost business growth. We are excited to leverage the market insights and intelligence of Mastercard Advisors to crystallize opportunities in electronic payments and thereby enhance customer satisfaction for Saudi Post customers." Mastercard Advisors is one of the largest payments consulting practices globally that provides proprietary real-time transaction data analysis, data-driven consultancies, as well as marketing solutions to help partners optimize, streamline, and grow their businesses. By combining global best practices with data-driven segmentation and targeting, Mastercard Advisors counsels card issuers and acquirers, banks, merchants and retailers, investors and government entities in their decision-making processes around the globe. Mastercard is committed to empowering organizations by harnessing its innovative technology, and achieving shared goals of driving greater economic value and customer satisfaction. It continues to look for new opportunities in the region where its deep expertise and informed advice can expedite companies in their journey towards a ‹World Beyond Cash›. — SG
