The winners of the MEA Finance Leaders in Payments Awards 2023, held at the Ritz Carlton Hotel JBR in Dubai, were announced and presented with their awards on the 14th of September in a ceremony packed with senior executives from banking, fintech and payments technology providers.
These special payments focused awards bring recognition to the key individuals and businesses that are, through their hard work, innovative approaches and dedication, building a new, smarter and more agile payments ecosystem in the region that will transform transactions, from the day-to-day to the corporate, and positively influence the lives of people and businesses across the region
Organized by MEA Finance Magazine and already regarded as the apex of recognition for payments excellence across the region, the awards programme spotlights the genuine innovations and stand-out performance of institutions in the banking, fintech and payments technology space.
A high number of entries underwent evaluation by a panel of judges comprised of industry experts before conferring the prestigious awards to the winners. The panel selected twenty-four category winners following concentrated consideration of their research and knowledge of the market, understanding of the needs of their full range of clients and customers and an assessment of all relevant developments and achievements from the preceding year.
Here follows the full list of the MEA Finance Banking Leaders in Payments Awards 2023 winners:
| CATEGORY NAME | WINNERS |
| Best Payment Gateway | Mastercard |
| Best End-to-End Online Payments Processing Systems Provider | Checkout.com |
| Best Real-Time Payments Provider | Infosys Finacle |
| Best Real-Time Payments Implementation | ENBD X by Emirates NBD |
| Best Digital Overlay Payment Service Provider | ACI |
| Best Payment Technology Implementation – UAE | Mashreq NEOPAY |
| Best Payment Technology Implementation – KSA | Banque Saudi Fransi |
| Best User Experience in Payments – UAE | Al Ansari Financial Services PJSC |
| Best User Experience in Payments – KSA | Banque Saudi Fransi |
| Best Cross-Border Payments Technology Provider | Smartstream Technologies |
| Landmark Innovation in Cross-Border Payments Award | Swift |
| Best Payments Service Award | HPS |
| Best Open Banking Payments Project | First Abu Dhabi Bank |
| Best Payments Inclusivity Initiative | Magnati |
| Best Instant Payments Technology Implementation | Commercial Bank of Dubai |
| Best Instant Payments Technology Implementation Provider | Global Software Solutions Group (GSS) |
| Best Remittance and Foreign Exchange Service Provider | Al Ansari Exchange LLC |
| Overall Best Payments Platform in the Middle East | HPS |
| Payments Innovation of the Year – KSA | Banque Saudi Fransi |
| Payments Innovation of the Year – UAE | Commercial Bank of Dubai |
| Best Innovation in Payments Technology | Arab Financial Services (AFS) |
| Payments Technology Executive of the Year | Samer Soliman, Chief Executive Officer, Arab Financial Services (AFS) |
| Digital Payments Leader of the Year | Ramana Kumar, Chief Executive Office, Magnati |
| Payments Executive of the Year | Onur Ozan, MD, Regional Head for Middle East, North Africa and Turkiye, Swift |
