• For companies based in the Middle East: entries should refer to activity within the Middle East and/or international programmes run/controlled by the Middle East teams.
• For companies based outside of the Middle East: entries must refer to activity within the Middle East.

The Card & Payments Awards are open to the following organisations.

Credit card issuers and also their retail, affinity and co-brand partners. ‘Credit card issuers’ mean the bank or other financial institution licensed to issue credit tokens.

Current Account Providers linking a payment card or digital payment facility to a banking or building society account, which is used to pay for goods and services by debiting the holder’s account.

Prepaid card issuers, meaning any organisation who owns or operates a brand that is utilised (on its own or as a co-brand) in connection with prepaid cards usable in an open network, identified by an issuer identification number (BIN) or, for closed loop, in a significant number of outlets in the relevant country.

Charge card issuers and also their retail, affinity and other co-brand partners, who provide payment cards that require customers to settle their account in full at the end of a specified period of time.

Merchant acquirers who are licensed to offer merchant acquiring services in the relevant country.

Other Payments Companies - All entrants must offer payment-related services to companies within the financial services industry.

Retailers are eligible to enter any category where they can showcase a payments related qualifying entry.

Processors, aggregators, payment facilitators, PSPs/PISPs, ISOs - Providers must offer an existing service to the financial services industry.