PayPal expands in MEA region with its newly launched hub in Dubai
PayPal, one of the biggest digital commerce platforms in the world with a market capitalisation of US$61 billion, opened a new regional hub in Dubai – its first-ever location in the Middle East and Africa.
The regional hub, located in Dubai Internet City, strengthens PayPal's commitment to its customers and partners in the region and enables millions to access the global digital economy. Through its Dubai operations, PayPal will serve 80 countries.
PayPal expands to Dubai
PayPal's expanded presence will bring global commerce capabilities to the region, including frictionless payments, robust security, and broader access to international payment networks to help large enterprises and small businesses sell across borders. It also comes at a time when the UAE and the Middle East countries are actively embracing digital payments.
Suzan Kereere, President of Global Markets at PayPal, commented: 'PayPal is uniquely positioned to bridge the gap between consumers and businesses for cross-border commerce, fostering growth in local economies. We proudly serve over 430 million customers worldwide today, and we hope to reach many more from our new regional hub for the Middle East and Africa.
'We want to empower businesses in this region to connect with our global consumers, while enabling consumers here to shop with confidence internationally.'
Speaking from the Dubai AI Festival 2025 on Wednesday, Suzan added: 'As artificial intelligence rapidly transforms the way we shop and pay, PayPal is developing its next-generation shopping experiences at speed, including smart wallets and agentic commerce.'
The company has signed a number of deals with merchants and partners in the region in recent months.
Otto Williams, Senior Vice President, Regional Head and General Manager of PayPal Middle East and Africa, added: 'Through strategic partnerships with banks, fintechs, telecommunications providers, and other commerce players, we can collectively expand access to the global digital economy.
'We are honoured to already serve many of the largest online enterprises in the region across vital sectors like aviation, tourism, digital goods, and retail. With our new regional hub in Dubai, we are poised to achieve much more, particularly for small and medium-sized businesses, who we will equip with the tools to attract, convert and retain customers on a global scale.'
The company has revolutionised commerce globally since March 2000, when it was established with its headquarters in San Jose, California. The company was acquired by eBay in 2002 and spun off as a separate public listed company in 2014.
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