Mastercard and Tamatem Level Up Gaming Payments
Mastercard and mobile game publisher Tamatem have established a partnership to advance gaming payments and in-app transactions across the Middle East and Africa. Under the agreement, Mastercard Gateway will serve as the core payment infrastructure for the Tamatem Plus commerce platform in more than 13 markets, beginning with Saudi Arabia and the UAE.
Recent market data shows the gaming sector in the MENA region reached approximately $7.1 billion in 2025, reflecting a 7.5 percent annual growth rate. As consumer participation rises, game publishers require scalable processing channels to handle digital commerce effectively.
Infrastructure Behind Regional Gaming Payments
The integration of Mastercard Gateway through the Mastercard Merchant Cloud provides modular financial solutions for Tamatem Plus. The platform offers fraud detection tools, customer authentication, tokenization systems, and transaction data analytics designed for the fintech and gaming ecosystem.
“At Mastercard, we are committed to connecting people to their passions, and gaming is one of the fastest-growing passions in the region. Through meaningful partnerships, we are digitizing in-game payments to deliver unprecedented convenience to players and level up engagement.”
Mete Güney, Executive Vice President, Market Development, EEMEA, Mastercard
Direct Consumer Channels for Mobile Titles
Through the updated system, players can complete purchases on mobile devices and web stores using payment cards, regional alternative payment services, and telecom wallet balances. This setup gives game publishers direct consumer access to maintain their storefronts and manage purchasing experiences directly.
“When we started Tamatem in 2013, our belief was simple: MENA deserves world-class gaming built for our language and our culture. Today, enhancing the payment experience behind the games millions of people across our region love is the natural next chapter of that mission.”
Hussam Hammo, Founder and CEO, Tamatem
Localized Platform Architecture and Support
Tamatem Plus operates over 30 localized digital storefronts and supports more than 50 regional settlement methods through a single technical integration. As a direct gateway partner, Tamatem will receive continuous technical support alongside direct links to local and global acquiring banks.
“Gaming companies entering MENA face a highly fragmented payments landscape, with different consumer preferences, payment methods and infrastructure requirements across every market. Tamatem Plus was built to remove that complexity through one localized commerce and payments platform.”
Faisal Al Bitar, Managing Director, Tamatem Plus
Regional Expansion Plans
The initial rollout focuses on commercial operations in Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates before scaling to the remaining 11 target markets. In addition to transaction infrastructure, the companies plan to conduct technical training and knowledge transfer programs to support regional engineering teams managing digital gaming payments.
