UPayments
“Can UPayments become the dominant licensed payments infrastructure layer for SMBs and mid-market merchants across Kuwait and the GCC?”
Founded2016
HQSharq, Kuwait City, Kuwait
Total raised$70K
Latest roundBuyout/LBO (PE-backed)
IndustryInfrastructure / Payments
The story
Founded in 2016 as Kuwait's first CBK-licensed electronic payments and settlements provider, UPayments initially focused on payment gateway APIs for SMBs. Over time it expanded into a full suite of merchant services covering invoicing, payment links, e-commerce store building, POS devices, and property/rent collection — effectively becoming a vertical payments OS for Kuwaiti SMBs and mid-market merchants. The company is now PE-backed following a buyout/LBO, suggesting a growth-capital phase aimed at scaling its merchant base and product breadth across the GCC.
Product timeline
2016
UPayments founded as the first licensed electronic payments and settlements provider by the Central Bank of Kuwait.· pivot
2018
Obtained CBK ePayments and eSettlements License under CBK Resolution No. 44/430 of 2018.· banking
2021
Published detailed guidance on CBK EPA license requirements, establishing market-education positioning.· banking
2023
Achieved PCI-DSS Level 1 certification, the highest tier of payment data security compliance.· card
2025
Launched UInterfaceV2, a next-generation payment gateway API supporting KNET, credit cards, Apple Pay, Google Pay, and Samsung Pay.· banking
Regulated entities
1
regulatory licence held by UPayments
Licence types, jurisdictions and registered entities are in the Embedded Finance Index report.
The stack
1 layer disclosed in UPayments’s embedded-finance stack
Payments / PSP
UPayments Gateway (self-operated)
Accounting gap: significant