Mastercard and Pemo Launch Strategic Partnership to Boost UAE's SME Sector

Mastercard and UAE-based fintech startup, Pemo, have announced a strategic partnership aimed at promoting cashless, flexible expense management for small and medium-sized businesses (SMEs) in the United Arab Emirates (UAE). This initiative bolsters the country’s efforts to strengthen its thriving SME ecosystem.

A Boost for a Cashless Economy

Announced during Fintech Surge at GITEX 2023, the partnership is geared towards supporting the shift towards a cashless economy. It seeks to provide SMEs with access to digital spend management solutions that empower them to scale and grow. Pemo’s physical and virtual corporate cards, which combine digital and contactless payment technology, allow businesses to digitize and automate the spend management process. This includes one-click invoice payments and real-time cash flow monitoring for full visibility over spending habits.

An Array of Benefits for Pemo Mastercard Corporate Cardholders

Pemo Mastercard Corporate cardholders will gain access to a range of features designed to boost productivity and save on both business and leisure expenses. The program connects SME cardholders to over 150 merchant discounts through the Easy Saving Specials (ESS) platform, an SME-exclusive global redemption-based program with time-limited merchant offers redeemed at checkout. These offers include discounts on services like Google Workspace, DocuSign, Google Ads, Meta Ads, and Notion, as well as flexible workspace.

Cardholders can also enjoy travel and entertainment benefits, including access to airport lounges across the Middle East, airport concierge and discounts on on-demand car rides and car rental services. Those who activate the cards before the year ends will receive an exclusive, limited-time offer of up to 1% cashback on corporate advertising for three months.

The Vision of Mastercard and Pemo

Mastercard and Pemo share a vision to promote cashless spend management solutions for businesses in the UAE. “We are dedicated to connecting businesses big and small with better ways to make payments and manage expenses. We are delighted to partner with Pemo as we continue to work towards our commitment of bringing 50 million micro, small and medium enterprises (MSMEs) worldwide into the digital economy by 2025,” said Gina Petersen-Skyrme, Vice President and Country Business Development Lead, UAE & Oman, Mastercard.

Co-Founder of Pemo, Valerie Konde, expressed the company’s excitement about the partnership, “We are thrilled to partner with Mastercard, who shares our vision to promote cashless spend management solutions for businesses in the UAE. Now, companies can operate even more efficiently using innovative technology and rewarding solutions that empower their businesses to grow.”

Pemo Mastercard Corporate Cards: A Win for SMEs

In the UAE, SMEs make up 94% of all companies, contributing 40% of Dubai’s GDP. However, they often miss out on the perks that larger corporates typically enjoy. Pemo Mastercard Corporate cards aim to address these issues by providing SMEs with a streamlined, error-free reconciliation process, and greater control over spending.

The announcement follows a successful year for Pemo, which now has more than 1,000 businesses using its platform. The company launched in April 2022 and has secured $12 million in seed funding, which is being used for product development and expansion across the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region.