BizBahrain May-June 2017

Interview | NEC Payments
Creating Digital
Finance Ecosystems
Cash displacement, financial
inclusion and the rate of migration
towards electronic payments will
continue to be major factors affecting
the Middle East payments industry
throughout 2017. The overriding market
opportunity in the region for issuers,
merchant service providers, and
FinTechs is to target these cash-based
flows with new digital products and
services rather than competing over
market share in the already well serviced
middle and affluent demographic tiers.
No one can doubt that the payments
industry is changing: the choice
of payment methods that are now
available to consumers and businesses
is gaining momentum at what seems
like an ever increasing pace. 2016 saw
the roll-out of an immediate payment
network in Bahrain; the Electronic Funds
Transfer System or ETFS is operated
by The Benefit Company on behalf of
Central Bank of Bahrain. EFTS provides
Bahrain consumers and businesses
with the ability to instantly transfer
funds between bank accounts and to
settle bill payments using an Electronic
Bill Payment and Presentment (EBPP)
system. This highly advanced domestic
payment system puts Bahrain ahead of
many of its regional and international
counterparts and has been embraced by
the market with a surge in transaction
volumes.
Bahrain- based NEC Payments
supports these demands and growth in
the region with products that provide
access to a range of services, including
multi-currency and virtual online
spending accounts, e-wallets, contactless
payments, and on-mobile and online
payment acceptance. Andrew Sims,
Director and CEO of NEC Payments,
discusses with bizbahrain Group Editor
Reena Abraham how the payments
industry has evolved and what will be
the long term effects.
The banks and
businesses that we
work with find that
our innovative and
proprietary solutions
drive security,
performance, cost
savings, and revenue
generation.
Can you tell us more about NEC? What
strategic advantage does NEC offer its
customers?
NEC Payments is a Payments
Technology company formed in Bahrain
in 2014. We are licensed and regulated
by Central Bank of Bahrain, certified by
MasterCard for payment processing, and
are compliant with major international
security and business control standards.
We develop payment processing and
associated technologies, and provide
them as product and service solutions
that help banks, businesses, and
individuals find new and efficient ways
to make payments. The banks and
businesses that we work with find that
our innovative and proprietary solutions
drive security, performance, cost savings,
and revenue generation.
Andrew Sims
CEO, NEC Payments
How would you say the payments
industry has evolved and what are the
long-term effects for economies and for
the way business is conducted?
The payments industry evolved
slowly but steadily over a 40 year period
with only a few major developments in
that whole time. However, over the last
10 years, there has been a huge change
in the range of payments services,
technologies and security techniques
available in the market. This rapid period
of development and change has been
driven by the rise and ever increasing
growth in technology that has impacted
all areas of our lives: whether that be our
personal lives; the way we do business;
the way we view the media, or use new
social channels to communicate.
34 May-June 2017