Rewriting Digital Payments in the Middle East - A decade long case study
Technical Excellence and Implementation Mastery
STC and the work that we did for them is at the heart of what Rootware Technologies is built on. Our team’s exceptional success in transforming the client’s payment ecosystem stems from a unique combination of deep technical expertise and strategic implementation capabilities. Where previous vendors had faltered, our engineers demonstrated remarkable agility by delivering a working proof of concept within just one month – a stark contrast to the year-long unsuccessful attempts that had preceded us. This rapid turnaround wasn’t merely about speed; it showcased our team’s profound understanding of complex payment systems, regulatory requirements, and the Middle Eastern market’s unique dynamics.
Scalable Architecture - The heart of success
The project’s enduring success over a decade, highlights our team’s ability to build future-proof solutions. The initial challenge of creating a basic payment system evolved into architecting one of the region’s most sophisticated payment platforms, processing millions of transactions daily. Our engineers’ foresight in designing a scalable and flexible architecture has been crucial, allowing seamless integration of new payment methods and features without disrupting existing services. The team’s expertise in maintaining consistent regulatory compliance while continuously innovating – from implementing 3DS 2.0 to developing advanced features like split payments and auction payments – demonstrates their exceptional ability to balance security, innovation, and user experience. This remarkable journey from a failed implementation to a regional benchmark showcases not just technical prowess, but also our team’s commitment to delivering transformative solutions that stand the test of time.
Challenge
- Market Positioning:
The lack of a robust eCommerce payment system severely undermined the client’s market positioning. While competitors were rapidly deploying digital payment solutions, the client’s reliance on traditional payment methods and failed modernization attempts created a perception of technological lagging. This not only affected their image as an industry leader but also made it difficult to attract tech-savvy customers who increasingly expected seamless digital payment options.
- Customer Satisfaction:
The impact on customer satisfaction was multi-faceted. Customers faced longer transaction times and limited payment options, leading to cart abandonment and frustration. The absence of modern payment features like saved cards, digital wallets, and quick checkout options meant customers had to endure cumbersome payment processes. This directly translated into declining customer satisfaction scores and increased customer support queries related to payment difficulties.
- Competitive disadvantage:
In an increasingly digital marketplace, the payment infrastructure gap placed the client at a significant competitive disadvantage. They were unable to participate effectively in the growing eCommerce ecosystem, losing market share to more digitally-enabled competitors. Special online shopping events, flash sales, and digital promotions – which had become industry standards – were difficult to execute without a reliable payment system, limiting their ability to compete in these high-growth market segments.
- Revenue Growth Limitations:
The fourth critical impact was on revenue growth potential. Without a modern payment infrastructure, the client was effectively locked out of several revenue streams. They couldn’t implement subscription-based models, recurring payments, or instant refunds – features that were becoming significant revenue drivers in the digital economy. Additionally, higher transaction costs associated with traditional payment methods impacted profit margins, while the inability to process international payments limited their market expansion capabilities.
With all this in mind, we had our work cut-out for us
Solution
- Integration of 30+ services across multiple customer channels
- Seamless support for diverse payment methods such as Visa, mastercard, Amex, Mada, Apple Pay, Qitaf, and the client’s proprietary wallet
- Advanced payment features, including multi-service payments, split payments, postpaid account purchasing, auction payments, registered card payments, scheduled & un-scheduled payments etc.
- Compliance with evolving industry regulations, such as 3DS 2.0 ensuring a secure and modern payment ecosystem.
While the work keeps on going with a happy client, the results for these 10 years speak for themselves.
Result
- The ePayment platform processes millions of transactions daily, collecting billions in revenue on monthly basis
- The solution has maintained consistent compliance with industry regulations while rolling out innovative features
- Over 10 years of continued partnership reflects the client’s confidence in our ability to deliver exceptional results and adapt to their growing needs
- The clients payment platform is now a benchmark in the Middle East for reliability, scalability and above all, customer satisfaction.
From 2014 until now, we have processed upwards of X million transactions, amounting to Y trillion in collections. With so much work that has gone into the project and the thousands of hours on the project, we have rolled out services continuously until now and the work continues to grow.