By: Ahmed El-Shamsy

Mubasher: Metin Zavrak, CEO of STC Pay Bahrain, a unit of Saudi Telecom Company (stc), unveiled plans to expand the mobile wallet across the Middle East and the GCC region.

In an exclusive interview with Mubasher on the sidelines of the FinTech Forward 2025 (FF25) event, which is being held at Exhibition World Bahrain (EWB), Zavrak noted that this expansion marks a bigger push from the whole group.

He affirmed that some other discussions are going on, as the team is actively working to scale business in neighboring countries and North Africa later on.

“Kuwait and Syria are more imminent opportunities. But we are also exploring other countries. We're looking at GCC.  We are exploring Jordan, Oman. All these countries are on our radar,” the CEO revealed.

Established in 2023, STC Pay is a mobile wallet that provides payment services, such as international remittances and bill payments.  It focuses on solving day-to-day payments for any STC or non-STC customer who wants quick access to finance.

STC Pay started in Saudi Arabia back in 2018 and evolved into STC Bank after the Saudi Central Bank (SAMA) approved its transformation into a licensed digital bank.

Touching upon the platform’s growth rate, Zavrak asserted that they have seen an amazing growth due to the market’s high interest.

He added that they aim to double this growth year on year (YoY), pointing out that they are expecting to reach half of the population very soon.

Regarding the deployment of AI-based tools, the CEO highlighted that the development team in Bahrain leverages AI and chatbots to create offers, solve the issues facing the customers. 

Addressing the fintech landscape, Zavrak believes that the sector will evolve into everyday payments, as it eliminates the need for a physical wallet.

Day-to-day payments, transferring money, investments, and insurance will come and plug into all these mobile wallets. It will be like a super app that enables you to implement transactions through your phone.

As for the challenges facing the financial industry, Zavrak elaborated that finding the right talent is the hardest amid the technological revolution.

“You need to attract people to implement your vision. It's not that straightforward. It's not that easy. People are looking for global companies, and they are trying to go there. You are still trying to retain the local talent,” the CEO outlined.

He added: “For me as well. The challenge is to deliver fast because this is a race. To deliver fast, you need a team. You need the development. You need the push. It's not at the pace that we want.”

Finally, Zavrak expressed his thoughts on the future roadmap, intending to see the wallet evolving into maybe a digital bank.