barq and Mastercard are exploring new opportunities across payments and digital financial services, according to a LinkedIn post from barq.

The announcement came on the sidelines of Money20/20 Middle East 2026 in Riyadh, where both companies are strategic sponsors.

The collaboration builds on an existing relationship.

barq and Mastercard first partnered in September 2024, when barq began using Mastercard Gateway technology to equip its merchants and consumers with payment acceptance solutions.

This expanded collaboration aims to combine barq’s digital capabilities with Mastercard’s global payments expertise to develop more efficient and flexible solutions, enhance the user experience, and respond to the changing needs of individuals and businesses.

barq, founded by Ahmed Alenazi and licensed by the Saudi Central Bank in January 2024, has issued more than 6.5 million digital payment cards and processed over 500 million transactions since launching in July 2024, with total transaction volume reaching SAR 73 billion.

At this year’s Money20/20 Middle East, barq also won three Visa awards, including recognition as the fastest-growing fintech company across Central and Eastern Europe, the Middle East and Africa.

Beyond Mastercard, barq has built out a broader partner network over the past two years, including Thunes for cross-border remittances, TerraPay for international money transfers, iPiD for payee verification, and Alipay+, through which barq became the first partner in the Middle East to enable outbound cross-border QR payments.

Featured image: Edited by Fintech News UAE based on an image by barq via LinkedIn.