France-based Idemia, a global firm developing augmented identity, has expanded its footprint in the Middle East through the acquisition of Saudi Arabia’s most prominent card personalisation bureau.
Strengthened by PCard’s capabilities, Idemia said it will offer an expanded range of card payment services and solutions to the kingdom’s banking and payment ecosystem.
International Smart Card Factory Company, locally known as PCard, was founded in 2008 and offers services from smart card personalisation, mobile banking, digital wallets, instant card issuance and card inventory tracking and management to nine domestic banks.
In 2016, the Saudi government announced a move towards a cashless economy as part of its Saudi Vision 2030 development goals.
As a result of these efforts, the number of cashless PoS (point-of-sale) transactions in 2019 reached 1.6 billion, a rise of 57 percent on the previous year, while contactless PoS transactions hit 918.5 billion in 2019, an increase of 442 percent in 2018, with bank cards and smart phones representing 57 percent of all PoS transactions.
Recent studies suggest that Saudi Arabia is expected to have over 6.4 million credit cards and 28 million debit cards in circulation by 2023.
“Saudi Arabia has evolved rapidly in the last few years, attracting international players to collaborate with local experts to localise global technology in the Kingdom for their needs. Our acquisition of PCard is highlighting Idemia’s longstanding belief in the economy of Saudi Arabia and the huge potential for growth in electronic payments,” said Julia Schoonenberg, senior vice president, MEA, Financial Institutions, Idemia.
“This acquisition stems from our commitment to improve the lives of hundreds of millions of people by enabling trusted and secure access to financial services for everyone… With a professional management team that has intimate knowledge of the Saudi Arabian market, PCard is the perfect fit for us,” she added.
Idemia employs close to 15,000 employees around the world and serves clients in 180 countries.
Source:https://www.arabianbusiness.com/banking-finance/455549-frances-idemia-buys-saudi-bank-card-services-firm-amid-cashless-payments-boom