Wio Bank and Pine Labs: Modernising Payments in the UAE

Wio Bank has joined forces with global fintech platform Pine Labs to establish a modern acquiring infrastructure across the Middle East.

The strategic partnership aims to eliminate legacy technology dependencies by deploying Credit+, an API-first acquiring platform designed for high-speed merchant onboarding and real-time settlement.

By integrating this cloud-native framework, Wio Bank intends to scale its transaction volumes while maintaining enterprise-grade security and regulatory compliance within the UAE's rapidly evolving financial ecosystem.

The collaboration is focused on delivering a tech-first architecture that supports seamless multi-mode payment acceptance and intelligent, rule-based workflows to optimise acceptance rates for business users.

Jayesh Patel, CEO of Wio Bank PJSC, says: “At Wio, our focus is on building a banking platform that supports how businesses operate and grow. 

“This partnership with Pine Labs strengthens our ability to deliver simpler, more efficient payment capabilities, from faster onboarding and settlements to easier acceptance across channels. 

“It allows us to continue evolving our infrastructure while building the next generation of payments and value-added services around customer needs, so they can stay focused on running and growing their business.”

Infrastructure modernisation through modular stacks

The integration of Pine Labs’ technology arrives at a time when the UAE is aggressively accelerating its transition toward a cashless economy.

B Amrish Rau, CEO at Pine Labs, notes: “Our partnership with Wio Bank brings a modern acquiring processing platform to one of the most innovative digital banks in the region. 

“Credit+ is built to deliver high transaction throughput, rapid feature deployment, and seamless scalability through its API-driven, microservices architecture. 

“This collaboration reflects how a modular acquiring stack can help banks move faster, iterate smarter, and scale reliably in a digital-first payments ecosystem.”

Wio Bank, which launched as a digital-first platform, has positioned itself as a central pillar in this transition by offering integrated services that combine banking with embedded finance. By adopting Credit+, Wio Bank circumvents the traditional hurdles associated with monolithic banking cores, allowing for more flexible merchant lifecycle management.

As transaction volumes increase, the ability to manage high throughput without latency becomes a primary competitive advantage for digital banks looking to capture market share from incumbents.

Pine Labs has a proven track record of modernising legacy financial infrastructure for enterprises globally, and this move further cements its local presence in the Gulf region.

Market projections and regulatory context

A recent report from Innovate Finance listed the United Arab Emirates (UAE) as the fourth-biggest fintech investment market in the world. 

It saw US$2.5bn of capital invested in 2025, and has an average capital invested per deal of US$22.1m.

The report also lists a significant boost to the payments sector – a major issuer of capital globally in 2025 –  thanks to the rise of crypto in the US and the UAE.  

Binance’s US$2bn deal was the the largest primary raise of 2025. It significantly impacted the UAE’s ranking, giving the region a major boost.