Across the Gulf Cooperation Council, a quiet but consequential shift is underway in card payments. Four GCC states now operate or are actively launching domestic card payment schemes designed to route transactions through national switches rather than through the global networks of Visa and Mastercard. The strategic logic is consistent across all four: lower costs for merchants, data sovereignty for governments, and the retention of interchange revenue within national economies.
This is not a new pattern globally - approximately 90 domestic card schemes operate worldwide, carrying nearly 2 billion cards. But the GCC's simultaneous push is notable for its speed, coordination across the Gulf, and the sheer volume of card transactions at stake in some of the world's most cashless economies.
The Four Schemes
mada (Saudi Arabia) - The Established Giant
mada, operated by Saudi Payments (a subsidiary of the Saudi Central Bank, SAMA), is the most mature domestic scheme in the Gulf. With over 30 million cards in circulation, mada handles the overwhelming majority of domestic debit transactions in Saudi Arabia. The scheme has become particularly leading in e-commerce: SAMA data shows that e-commerce spending via mada cards reached a record SR30.7 billion (.18 billion) in October 2025 alone, a 68 percent year-on-year increase. For the first ten months of 2025, online mada transactions climbed 47.3 percent.
The scheme's success rests on a straightforward mandate: all domestic debit transactions in Saudi Arabia must be processed through the mada switch. International schemes like Visa and Mastercard are only activated for cross-border transactions or where a co-badged card is used abroad. This regulatory clarity has given mada a near-total domestic market share and has kept interchange revenue within the Saudi financial system.
Saudi Arabia's card payments market is projected to reach SAR 615.5 billion (.1 billion) in 2025. The portion routed domestically through mada rather than through international scheme rails represents a significant economic benefit - estimated at billions of riyals annually in retained interchange and processing fees.
Jaywan (UAE) - The New Entrant
Launched by Al Etihad Payments (AEP), a CBUAE subsidiary, Jaywan is the UAE's first domestic card scheme. As of 2025, all new debit cards issued in the UAE feature Jaywan, localising domestic transactions and keeping payment-related data within the country.
Jaywan's architecture distinguishes between domestic and international routing. Domestic debit and prepaid transactions are processed through UAESWITCH, the national card switch. Cross-border transactions outside the GCC are processed through co-branding partnerships with Visa, Mastercard, Discover, and UnionPay. This dual-routing model retains an estimated AED 2.5 billion in annual interchange income within the UAE economy that would otherwise flow to international networks.
The scheme supports two card formats: a mono-badge card (Jaywan-only, for domestic and GCC use) and a co-badge card (Jaywan paired with an international network for global acceptance). AEP has forged partnerships with all major international networks to ensure that Jaywan cardholders face no acceptance gaps when travelling.
The UAE's target of achieving a 90 percent cashless economy by 2026 adds urgency. As more transactions shift from cash to cards, the economic value of routing those transactions through a domestic scheme rather than an international one compounds rapidly.
Maal (Oman) - Zero-Fee Sovereignty
The Central Bank of Oman (CBO) launched the Maal national payment card in November 2025, coinciding with Oman's National Day. Maal's most distinctive feature is its fee structure: the CBO approved a full exemption from card issuance, reissuance, and annual fees for both banks and cardholders. Merchant acceptance costs are reported at up to 50 percent lower than international scheme rates.
This zero-fee approach is deliberately designed to drive rapid adoption in a market where card penetration has lagged behind Saudi Arabia and the UAE. By removing the cost barriers that might slow issuance, the CBO aims to build critical mass quickly.
Maal cards are initially accepted domestically and across GCC countries via GCCNet, the Gulf's interbank network. Plans for broader international acceptance through bilateral agreements are under development. The CBO has positioned Maal alongside its MPCSS instant payment platform and OmanNet card switch as pillars of a modernised domestic payment stack.
KNET (Kuwait) - The Veteran
KNET is the oldest domestic card scheme in the Gulf, processing over 1.45 billion local transactions annually. Nearly 80 percent of all online transactions in Kuwait are made via KNET. Unlike the newer entrants, KNET operates as a shared utility owned by Kuwaiti banks rather than as a central bank subsidiary.
KNET's market leadership in Kuwait is so complete that international card schemes have a relatively limited domestic presence. The scheme has more recently expanded its role as the operator of WAMD, Kuwait's real-time instant payment system, which surpassed one million registered accounts in its first quarter - onboarding 30 percent of Kuwait's banked population in three months.
Why Now? Three Converging Drivers
- Economic Nationalism in Payments
In a market where a single domestic debit transaction generates an interchange fee of 0.5-1.5 percent of the transaction value, the aggregate economic impact of routing millions of daily transactions through an international rather than a domestic switch is substantial. For Saudi Arabia alone, with card payments projected to exceed billion in 2025, even a small percentage difference in scheme fees translates to billions of dollars annually.
The GCC governments have recognised that payment infrastructure is economic infrastructure. Retaining interchange revenue within national economies is not merely a matter of cost reduction - it is industrial policy.
- Data Sovereignty
When a domestic debit transaction is processed through Visa or Mastercard, the transaction data traverses international networks and is subject to the data governance frameworks of those networks' home jurisdictions. Domestic schemes keep transaction data within national borders, processed by nationally regulated entities. In the post-Snowden, post-GDPR era, this is increasingly important to Gulf governments that view financial data as a matter of national security.
- GCC-Wide Interoperability
GCCNet, the Gulf's cross-border card switch, provides a pathway for domestic schemes to achieve regional acceptance without relying on international networks. A Maal cardholder in Oman can already use their card in Saudi Arabia via GCCNet. As Jaywan matures, UAE cardholders will have the same regional acceptance. This creates a GCC-wide domestic scheme ecosystem that progressively reduces the need for international scheme co-branding for regional travel and commerce.
What This Means for International Networks
Visa and Mastercard are not being displaced from the Gulf - their role is being restructured. The international networks retain their position for cross-border transactions, premium credit products, and e-commerce with international merchants. Both networks have signed co-branding agreements with Jaywan and continue to operate alongside mada in Saudi Arabia.
But the highest-volume, lowest-margin segment - domestic debit - is progressively moving to national rails. This mirrors what has happened in India (RuPay), China (UnionPay), Brazil (Elo), and Turkey (Troy). The GCC is joining a global trend where domestic card schemes capture the domestic debit market while international networks retain the cross-border and credit segments.
For payment service providers, acquirers, and processors operating in the Gulf, the practical implication is clear: domestic scheme certification and integration are no longer optional. Any payments business serving GCC merchants must support mada, Jaywan, KNET, and increasingly Maal alongside the international networks.
The Bahrain Gap
Bahrain's BENEFIT operates as a domestic switching and payment services company rather than a card scheme in the mada/Jaywan sense. BENEFIT processes domestic transactions and operates the Fawri instant payment system, but has not launched a branded domestic card scheme with its own mark on the card face. Whether Bahrain follows the mada/Jaywan model or continues with its current approach will depend partly on whether the economics justify a branded scheme in a market of 1.5 million people.
Looking Ahead
The GCC's domestic scheme push is likely to accelerate for three reasons. First, the schemes provide a platform for innovation - mada's integration with Saudi Arabia's sarie instant payment system, for example, creates a unified domestic payment experience. Second, Gulf states' Vision 2030-style economic plans explicitly target payment digitalisation as a strategic priority. Third, the success of mada and KNET in achieving leading domestic market share provides a proven playbook for Jaywan and Maal to follow.
The question is no longer whether GCC countries will operate domestic card schemes, but how quickly the newer entrants will reach the market market leadership that mada and KNET have already achieved - and whether the model will extend to credit cards, where international networks currently face less domestic competition.
Sources: CBUAE - Jaywan, the UAE's First Domestic Card Scheme (Official press release); Al Etihad Payments - Jaywan: All Your Questions Answered; Gulf News - Why UAE's Jaywan Card Payment Scheme Will Be a Winner from Day 1; Arab News - Saudi e-commerce via mada cards hits record .18bn in October (SAMA data); Zawya - Central Bank of Oman Unveils Maal National Payment Card; ACI Worldwide - Kuwait's WAMD Surpasses 1 Million Accounts (KNET).