Tap Payments Climbs to 13th in Forbes Middle East Fintech 50 Following Major Regional Growth

Tap Payments has climbed to 13th place in the 2026 Forbes Middle East Fintech 50, marking its third consecutive year on the list. For fintech professionals, this ascent highlights the maturing of regional payment infrastructure providers that successfully navigate the complex regulatory landscapes of the GCC and Egypt while scaling to serve over 120,000 businesses.

What was announced

Tap Payments secured the 13th spot in the 2026 Forbes Middle East Fintech 50, a significant jump from its 18th place ranking in 2025 and 24th in 2024. This recognition follows a decade of growth for the Kuwait-founded firm, which now operates across the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region. The company’s infrastructure is designed to bridge the gap between local payment methods, such as Kuwait’s KNET, and broader regional or international networks.

The company currently holds regulatory approvals and licenses in all six Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) countries as well as Egypt. This geographic footprint allows Tap to act as a single entry point for enterprises and SMEs looking to expand across borders without managing multiple local payment integrations.

A key component of their current offering is tapOS, a specialized operating system for business payments. This platform consolidates billing, payment acceptance, wallet balances, and reporting into a single workspace. This is intended to streamline operations for finance teams managing multiple brands or cross-border transactions. Additionally, the company recently expanded its institutional reach through a partnership with HSBC Kuwait in September 2026, focusing on enhancing card acceptance and reconciliation for the bank's corporate clients.

"We founded Tap in Kuwait with a clear ambition: to make digital payments simpler for businesses and help them grow. Today, we serve businesses across MENA, supported by locally built infrastructure and strong partnerships with regulators, banks and payment networks across the region. Being recognised by Forbes Middle East for the third consecutive year, and rising to 13th place, reflects the progress our team has made and the role we continue to build in the region’s fintech ecosystem. I’m proud of how far we’ve come and grateful to our team, customers and partners who make this growth possible."

Ali Abulhasan, Co-Founder and CEO of Tap Payments

The companies involved

Tap Payments was established in 2014 by Kuwaiti entrepreneur Ali Abulhasan. Since its inception, the firm has focused on building proprietary payment infrastructure specifically tailored for the MENA market. It has grown from a local startup into a regional heavyweight, now serving a client base of more than 120,000 businesses. The company’s value proposition centers on its ability to navigate the fragmented regulatory environment of the Middle East, providing a unified platform for diverse payment methods.

HSBC Kuwait, a key partner for Tap, is a significant player in the region’s banking sector. The collaboration between the two entities, specifically the digital merchant acquiring solution launched in late 2026, signals a shift in how traditional Tier-1 banks are leveraging fintech infrastructure to serve corporate clients. By integrating Tap’s technology, HSBC Kuwait aims to provide clearer transaction and settlement data to finance teams, addressing a common pain point in corporate treasury management. Tap’s presence in all GCC nations positions it as a critical intermediary in the region’s evolving digital economy.

What FF News has reported before

FF News has closely followed Tap Payments’ expansion and its high-profile collaborations. In September 2026, we reported on how HSBC Kuwait Partners with Tap Payments to Launch Digital Merchant Acquiring Solution, a move designed to accelerate digital transformation for the bank's corporate clients. Earlier that year, in July, the company was instrumental in a cross-sector collaboration where Policybazaar.ae and Tabby Partner to Launch Interest-Free Insurance Installments via Tap Payments. Furthermore, in late 2024, the firm played a central role in a major technological milestone when Mastercard Collaborates With Tap Payments on First Global Launch of ‘Click to Pay’ With Payment Passkey Service for Ecommerce.

What this means

The steady climb of Tap Payments in regional rankings reflects a broader consolidation of power among homegrown MENA fintechs. As global players often struggle with the hyper-local requirements of the GCC—such as KNET in Kuwait or Mada in Saudi Arabia—locally built infrastructure providers are becoming the preferred partners for both international banks and local enterprises. This announcement places pressure on traditional payment processors that lack the unified "operating system" approach seen in tapOS. The central question for the sector now is whether these regional champions can maintain their dominance as regulatory frameworks across the GCC begin to harmonize, potentially lowering the barrier to entry for global competitors.