The Middle East, notably the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) nations, is undergoing accelerating growth, rapid change and market diversification. This comes as the region moves away from over reliance on natural resources to build sustainable long-term economies. The resulting increase in business diversity, coupled with sturdy economic growth means businesses will increasingly rely on highly effective management of their treasury, cash and payments systems. Regional treasury centres and connection corridors are inevitably going to build in significance and importance.
The GCC’s geography is a natural advantage, placing it where East meets West, which allows hubs located in the Middle East to service multiple regions. As such, increasing numbers of multinational businesses are moving into the market. However, the region is complex; each country has its own currency, regulatory requirements, payments infrastructure and local clearing systems, and this heightened activity has led treasurers to marshal their operations together.
“For treasurers, this fast-paced evolution and expansion has led to consolidating operations into centralised regional hubs, rather than fragmenting them across multiple countries and regions. By streamlining treasury transactions through centralisation, businesses are able to increase efficiency and security while improving visibility of their entire cash picture,” says Tristan Attenborough, Regional Sales Executive, CEEMEA, Global Head of Natural Resources Group and Head of Global Advisory, Payments, J.P. Morgan.
Outlook
National visions like Saudi Vision 2030 and We the UAE 2031 are driving economic diversity and growth, enacting favourable tax and regulatory environments, competitive corporate tax rates and well-developed financial regulatory frameworks, all designed to meet the needs of global multinationals.
Meanwhile, the financial services sector continues to mature, supported by regulatory reforms and global partnerships. Regional banking is evolving to offer more than just payments systems to service the growing, more diverse commercial environment. As development continues, the banking ecosystem in the GCC is providing wider and more sophisticated financial services, including international banking networks and growing fintech hubs.
The near- and medium-term future will provide opportunities in the region with growth in infrastructure, technology and logistics capabilities. “Advancements in treasury technology leveraged in the region, bring the opportunity to increase visibility into global cash positions, while offering increased control over money movement at scale,” says Attenborough.
The region’s large sovereign wealth funds will continue their outbound investments into the US, Asia and Africa, while at the same time large-scale regional projects will continue to attract inbound foreign direct investment.
Payments Priorities
With the Middle East and its markets currently locked into this period of strong growth and development, banks like J.P. Morgan must define their priorities for the payments services they provide here. “Our approach to service is consistent across the world: We help clients navigate financial markets with confidence. We bring extensive global and technical knowledge, paired with on-the-ground regional expertise to guide clients through various regulatory landscapes to deliver resilience and growth. This blending of global experience with local expertise is key to our approach. It allows our clients to navigate local nuances, mitigate risk and seize emerging opportunities,” states Attenborough.
As the GCC continues maturing into a hub for international business, one operational challenge for treasuries will be liquidity management. There is considerable trapped cash in operating subsidiaries in different countries due to exchange controls or the lack of cross-border sweeping capabilities, so managing that liquidity in a fast and efficient manner will be crucial.
In the Middle East it is essential to provide a full range of services across corporate banking and treasury services, while focusing on improving efficiency, proximity and flexibility for institutional clients. As Attenborough underlines, “Our clients get enhanced treasury and payment capabilities, including optimised liquidity and operational controls. And we evolve with our clients’ businesses, growing and adapting with them over time to deliver secure, efficient and reliable solutions.”
Global Treasury Centralisation
Multinational companies are increasingly cognisant of the need to increase efficiency and achieve greater visibility of cash across their entire organisations. Global treasury centralisation, a strategy placing treasury functions such as cash management, foreign exchange, risk management and funding into a single treasury centre to improve control, has emerged as the solution.
Abu Dhabi Global Market (ADGM) is a significant location for setting up regional or global treasury centres and the opportunity exists for it to become a leading global treasury hub. ADGM is regarded as a preferred hub for corporate treasury functions, based on key factors including English common law, a tax-efficient environment, an excellent banking and fintech ecosystem and a strategic location bridging Africa, Asia and Europe.
J.P. Morgan Payments has a significant presence in ADGM, and is active with its Global Treasury Centre initiative where clients partner to establish an in-house bank and centralise their global treasury operations. Its client-led strategy is driven by a client’s need to centralise their financial structure, and J.P. Morgan Payments harnesses its considerable expertise and leading-edge technology to provide effective tailored solutions.
As global treasury centralisation adoption grows, and multinational businesses employ this strategy, they will require the most experienced and effective partners to help them realise the opportunities it brings. J.P. Morgan Payments adds true value by partnering to develop strategic roadmaps and bring clarity to regulatory requirements. The gains in efficiency, visibility and control will become important and valuable benefits.
Payments Corridors
A vital conduit for the effective functioning of treasury centres are payment corridors, which are crucial to global money movement. As globalisation continues to drive cross-regional expansion for businesses, these corridors or payments rails become ever more important.
Due to the region’s geography as the central point between East and West, investments in logistics and transport hubs like railways, airports and integrated logistics zones in the GCC are growing. This is especially true in the GCC where, as Attenborough notes, “You just cannot speak about payment corridors without speaking about energy flows.” The GCC is one of the world’s pre-eminent energy hubs with important trade corridors to Europe, Asia and the US, and the UAE among the top five re-export hubs in the world.
Manufacturing growth is naturally following the economic development of the region which brings additional challenges around supply chain operations, financing and global partnerships. Attenborough asserts that, “As import and export trends evolve with the growth of these new manufacturing industries, cross-corridor trade flows – and cash management – become increasingly vital to businesses and their treasury teams.”
Not only are payments traveling across the globe, but they are moving more quickly than ever before. Attenborough points out that, “The speed of money movement is increasing, and this will continue due to the development of Real Time Payments (RTP) schemes. Most of these RTP schemes are domestic but some are becoming international.” He adds that while blockchain networks are in their infancy, their promise of frictionless and borderless money movement is a serious consideration. Eight of the largest financial institutions in the Middle East and North Africa are now onboarded on the Kinexys Digital Payments platform, part of the firm’s industry-leading blockchain business unit.
Managing a Competitive Environment
In a market where opportunity and competition are growing at pace, no business operates in a vacuum. J.P. Morgan Payments is well placed to compete with other banks and financial institutions working in the Middle East.
A key defining factor in their favour is their operating offices in important regional centres including Abu Dhabi, Doha, Dubai and Riyadh. J.P. Morgan has been present in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia for 90 years, Bahrain for more than 50 years and the UAE for nearly two decades. This longevity of presence in the region is regarded as a sign of the admirable qualities of reliability and commitment.
In 2024, J.P. Morgan Middle East Limited received full approval from the Financial Services Regulatory Authority in ADGM to update its banking license to Category One. This allows clients to leverage its payment solutions in the financial freezone and consolidate treasury operations regionally, while also benefiting from global regulatory alignment.
Connectivity to its global payment rails includes direct access to international clearing systems, such as Dollar, Euro, Sterling, SGD and Yuan, as well as connection to booking locations including London, Netherlands, Singapore and Hong Kong. This helps to enable faster and more cost-effective cross-border payments.
In addition, the firm offers streamlined compliance and onboarding, which importantly accelerates regulatory compliance and account opening. As Attenborough underlines, “Our global reach and local expertise means we have the knowledge and skills to deliver the financial services capabilities clients need to grow globally, with a deep understanding of regulatory landscapes.”
Treasury’s Evolving Role
In the midst of todays’ geopolitical uncertainty, treasurers face pressure to have better visibility and control of their global cash. To do this with success, Attenborough states, “They must also collaborate effectively with financial partners and internal stakeholders, leaving less time for manual tasks. They also need to navigate industry diversification, rapid technology transformation and a dynamic macroeconomic environment, and they need to move fast.”
Strategic treasury solutions can help treasurers reach these expectations, but solutions must also be flexible enough to adapt to each client’s unique needs without sacrificing control and security. In the region, J.P. Morgan Payments constantly pushes its technology and capabilities forward, to prepare for future needs, but Attenborough adds that, “service and client relationships remain the cornerstone of everything we do. We innovate with our client at the centre, so they can be sure they are getting adaptable solutions, tailored for their business priorities.”
In the background, there is the also the evolving risk and compliance environment – anti-money laundering, evolving cybersecurity threats, fraud monitoring and reporting, all adding complexity to moving money seamlessly and at scale. Deep understanding of regulatory landscapes is key to helping clients navigate financial markets around the world with confidence. Attenborough acknowledges this need for increased risk management, pointing to the firm’s $600 million annual investment in cybersecurity to help protect its clients.
The globalisation of business has contributed to the growing importance of treasury and payments corridors. This is now a major consideration for businesses and their treasurers across the Middle East as economies here diversify and grow. But it also reflects the region’s enthusiasm for growth and success, and J.P. Morgan with its Global Treasury Centre initiative and long history of working in and supporting companies here, continues to provide the services that will bring about the advent of our region as a major world business hub.
[i] Zawya, July 2023, ‘UAE: Re-exports can fast-track Emirates’ economic ambitions.’ Available at: https://www.zawya.com/en/economy/gcc/uae-re-exports-can-fast-track-emirates-economic-ambitions-lcngswxw. Accessed September 2025.
[ii] Khaleej Mag, February 2025, ‘UAE Foreign Trade Surpasses AED 3 Trillion in 2024, Marking Historic Milestone.’ Available at:
https://khaleejmag.com/news/uae-foreign-trade-surpasses-aed-3-trillion-in-2024-marking-historic-milestone/. Accessed September 2025.
[iii] UAE Ministry of Economy and Tourism. ‘UAE non-oil foreign trade totals AED 2.233 trillion in 2022 setting new growth record.’ Available at: https://www.moet.gov.ae/en/-/uae-non-oil-foreign-trade-totals-aed-2.233-trillion-in-2022-setting-new-growth-record#:~:text=Ten%20main%20re%2Dexport%20markets,%2C%20Turkey%2C%20and%20Hong%20Kong. Accessed September 2025.
[iv] Africa Business Pages, ‘UAE-Africa Trade On The Rise.’ Available at: https://www.africa-business.com/features/uae-africa-trade.html. Accessed September 2025.
v Deloitte, ‘Deloitte Middle East report: Gulf Sovereign Wealth Funds lead global growth as assets forecast to reach USD 18 tn by 2030.’ Available at:
https://www.deloitte.com/middle-east/en/about/press-room/gulf-sovereign-wealth-funds-lead-global-growth-as-assets-forecast-to-reach-usd18-tn-by-2030.html. Accessed September 2025.
vi https://www.jpmorgan.com/payments/newsroom/kinexys-blockchain-mena-region
