Manama, Kingdom of Bahrain - Arab Financial Services (AFS), the premier digital payment solutions innovator in the Middle East and Africa (MEA), has announced a strategic partnership with Planet, a leading global provider of integrated payments and technology services, to establish a fully unified payment ecosystem for the hospitality sector. This alliance immediately redefines the guest experience in the Kingdom of Bahrain.

The new solution represents a significant leap forward in payments integration. Rolling out first in Bahrain, the joint offering seamlessly combines Planet’s world-class hospitality platform with AFS’s extensive regional expertise across card issuing, processing, acquiring, and POS services.

This integration delivers a dual benefit to merchants: it enables them to offer a convenient and transparent guest experience, while simultaneously reducing the cost of operations and minimizing errors in a secure manner. The differentiated offering significantly strengthens AFS's acquiring proposition, positioning the company to capture new business and enhance the value provided to its existing customer base in the competitive hospitality market.

“This partnership is a major market differentiator for hospitality payments in the Kingdom of Bahrain,” said Mr. Samer Soliman, AFS Chief Executive Officer. “By seamlessly integrating Planet’s robust payment platform with our extensive market expertise, we are providing a unified digital platform that delivers significant commercial advantage. This solution is our commitment to merchants, designed to unlock new revenue streams and reinforce our leadership in acquiring.”

Mr. Colin Close, Chief Commercial Officer (CCO), Planet, said, “We’re privileged to be partnering with Arab Financial Services. We have a long-established presence as a leading payments provider across the Middle East and this extension of our collaboration will allow us to further expand our hospitality payments solutions across the region.”

Following its launch in Bahrain, AFS and Planet have a clear strategic roadmap to extend the joint offering to key regional markets, including Oman, the United Arab Emirates (UAE), and Egypt. 

AFS Media Relations
Email: pr@afs.com.bh

About AFS:

Arab Financial Services (AFS) was formed in 1984 to provide payment products, services and expertise to banks and merchant groups and deliver customized payment solutions in an increasingly divergent, disruptive, and dynamic payment ecosystem.

AFS is owned by 37 banks and financial institutions and serves over 60 clients in more than 20 countries across the Middle East and Africa. Today, AFS is the region’s leading digital payment solutions provider and fintech enabler. Regulated by the Central Bank of Bahrain and the Central Bank of Egypt and licensed by the Central Bank of UAE, its dedication to innovation has made AFS a driving force in the market offering a rich portfolio of payment solutions including Open Banking Hub, popular digital wallets, market-leading merchant acquisition services, digital payroll solutions and more. Providing the highest quality payments solutions that are trusted by businesses, AFS has offices and data centers in the Kingdom of Bahrain, Arab Republic of Egypt, Sultanate of Oman, and the United Arab Emirates.

About Planet:

Planet is a leading global provider of integrated technology and payments solutions for retail and hospitality customers. We create great experiences for the millions of people who use our payments, software, and tax-free solutions every minute of every day.  

Planet empowers its customers to deliver great customer experiences by combining payments and software in ways that drive greater loyalty, increase revenue and save time.

Founded over 35 years ago and with our headquarters in London, today we have more than 2,500 employees located across six continents serving our customers in more than 120 markets.