Dublin, Jan. 19, 2026 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — The “Middle East Gift Card and Incentive Card – Market Share Analysis, Industry Trends & Statistics, Growth Forecasts (2026-2031)” has been added to ResearchAndMarkets.com’s offering.
The Middle East gift card and incentive card market is on a robust growth trajectory, with its size projected to reach USD 27.11 billion by 2026 from USD 24.94 billion in 2025. By 2031, this figure is expected to climb to USD 41.19 billion, driven by a CAGR of 8.72% over the 2026-2031 period. This expansion reflects the region’s rapid adoption of digital-payment solutions, largely propelled by initiatives like Saudi Vision 2030 and similar cash-lite agendas in the UAE and Qatar. The increased use of online spending, mobile wallets, and API-based financial models are reshaping distribution channels, lowering issuance costs, and boosting merchant acceptance.
Corporate digitization of employee-reward programs, coupled with a rising demand for instant digital gifting from millennials and expatriates, accelerates market growth. The relatively moderate market concentration creates opportunities for new entrants, particularly fintechs aiming to fill niche gaps through white-label issuance, fraud mitigation, and cross-border redemption services.
Middle East Gift Card and Incentive Card Market Trends and Insights
Explosive e-commerce and digital-payment penetration has set the stage for significant regional growth. With increasing smartphone ownership, improved logistics, and competitive delivery pricing, regional e-commerce is experiencing double-digit growth. Mobile wallets already account for nearly one-fifth of GCC point-of-sale value, while super-apps enhance discoverability of gift cards at checkout. Services like STC Pay and Tabby integrate stored-value options directly within their platforms, allowing for real-time issuance, split payments, and cashback offers.
Government cash-lite agendas, such as Saudi Vision 2030, focus on investments in network infrastructure and open-banking frameworks to achieve 70% digital-payment penetration by 2030. This initiative aims to boost the payment system’s efficiency, reduce issuance costs, and support the broader objectives of Vision 2030. Similar efforts in the UAE and Qatar will likely expand the number of acceptance points at retail terminals.
High fraud and charge-back risk poses challenges, with reports indicating that 52% of Saudi digital-payment fraud occurs online. This raises liability concerns for issuers and merchants, with divergent KYC standards across MENA facilitating account takeovers and resale of anonymous cards. While machine-learning tools offer some fraud protection, false positives can impact approval rates.
Additional market drivers and restraints include:
- Corporate digitization of employee rewards
- Gifting culture among a growing expatriate and millennial population
- Fragmented consumer-protection and e-money regulation
Segment Analysis
The corporate segment, which accounted for 38.88% of market value in 2025, is poised for dynamic growth with a 14.32% CAGR. SMEs prefer prepaid rewards for simplifying payroll and minimizing cash management issues. API connectors from issuers like NymCard enable seamless integration with HR software, enhancing ease of use. Merit Incentives’ bank-partnership model processed millions in employee rewards, underscoring the segment’s potential. Tax benefits in certain GCC regions encourage the substitution of cash bonuses with digital cards.
As platform interoperability grows, the use of gift cards extends to channel incentives, reseller commissions, and customer-loyalty schemes. Real-time analytics offer SMEs insights for campaign adjustments. As government diversification strategies expand credit access for small businesses, the user base for corporate gift solutions broadens, bolstering market growth.
A selection of companies mentioned in this report includes, but is not limited to:
- Edenred
- YouGotaGift
- Resal
- Merit Incentives
- STC Pay
- Giftit.me
- NymCard
- Blackhawk Network ME
- Carrefour Gift Cards KSA
- Alshaya Group eGift
- Talabat Rewards
For more information about this report visit https://www.researchandmarkets.com/r/w5roj3
About ResearchAndMarkets.com
ResearchAndMarkets.com is the world’s leading source for international market research reports and market data. We provide you with the latest data on international and regional markets, key industries, the top companies, new products and the latest trends.
- Middle East Gift Card And Incentive Card Market E Commerce Retail Sales In G C C In U S D Billion 2018 2025
