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Tamara expands to UAE as new research reveals country’s residents among biggest users of BNPL


• Leading UAE retailers Namshi, SHEIN and Styli now offering BNPL via Tamara

• Research from Checkout.com reveals 31% of UAE plan to use payment method

• Tamara – a Gold Sponsor at Dubai’s inaugural DIFC FinTech Week – plans to

sign up 1,000 retailers in the country by the end of the year


Dubai, UAE – Tuesday June 28 2022: The GCC’s leading Buy Now Pay Later platform

Tamara is officially expanding to the UAE, with new research revealing that residents of

the country are set to be among the biggest users of the technology this year.

Customers across the Emirates will now be able to split their payments interest-free at

leading retailers including Namshi, SHEIN, Styli, Fitness Time, Faces and Swarovski,

with hundreds more merchants anticipated to sign up in the coming months.

It comes as new research by Checkout.com – the lead investor in Saudi-based Tamara’s

record-breaking $110 million Series A funding round – reveals that UAE consumers are

among those most likely to use BNPL this year.

The survey concluded that 31% of residents are planning to use the technology in the

coming 12 months, more than doubling the 21% in the country who have already used

BNPL so far this year. The UAE was followed by Saudi Arabia at 27%, Kuwait at 26%

and Bahrain at 18%. According to the research, which was conducted across the

MENAP region, Qatar was in top place at 36%.

The UAE is a leading market for financial technology in the MENA region. Non-cash

payments have already surpassed cash payments across all transactions, and are

expected to reach more than 70% of transactions by 2023 according to the MENA

FinTech Association.

Abdulmajeed Alsukhan, CEO and co-founder of Tamara, commented: “Dubai is the

natural second home for Tamara. The city is a global outpost for innovation, especially in

financial technology, and has proven in the past few years its resilience and leadership

in unpredictable economic conditions.

“We are pleased to be launching in the UAE with leading retailers like Namshi, SHEIN

and Styli, adding to a pool of more than 3,500 merchants across the region who are

empowering their customers with new payment solutions.

“Given the strong market potential and current growth rates, we anticipate signing up

1,000 merchants here by the end of the year.”

Remo Abbondandolo, SVP MENA at Checkout.com, which produced the research,

added: “We are delighted to welcome Tamara to the UAE market. Our research shows


that consumers are shifting away from Cash on Delivery in their masses and looking for

digital payment alternatives.

“Tamara’s Buy Now Pay Later model offers Sharia-compliant finance to consumers,

allowing them to receive a good or product before paying for it. As a result, Tamara is

perfectly placed to serve the UAE market and support the growth of its thriving

eCommerce landscape.”

Tamara – a Gold Sponsor at Dubai’s inaugural DIFC FinTech Week – was founded in

2020 in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, and was the first to acquire a sandbox license by the

Saudi Central Bank (SAMA) in its category at the time. It now operates in both Saudi

Arabia and the UAE and is available both online and in-store through Tamara’s

customer app.


Tamara works with global retail leaders like SHEIN, Adidas, IKEA, L'Occitane, and Yves

Saint Laurent, as well as top regional brands like Namshi, Abyat, Faces, Niceone, and

Golden Scent, offering payment solutions to more than 3,500 merchants across the

GCC.


-ENDS-

Contact


Scott Campbell

Head of PR & Communications

+971 58 517 0468


About Tamara

Tamara is MENA’s leading payments innovator, focused on providing a seamless

experience for merchants and customers through fair and transparent financial solutions.

The company’s flagship Buy Now Pay Later platform lets shoppers split their payments

online and in-store with no fees and no interest. Thousands of leading retailers across

the region including SHEIN, Namshi, Swarovski and Faces use Tamara to provide

flexible financial options for their customers. The company’s financial solutions are

developed in strict adherence with the Islamic Sharia rules and regulations, and are fully

compliant with the AAOIFI Sharia Standards.

Tamara was founded in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia in late 2020, by serial entrepreneur

Abdulmajeed Alsukhan, Turki Bin Zarah and Abdulmohsen Al Babtain. It has since

grown to more than 200 employees in offices around the world including the UAE,

Germany and Vietnam.


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