AFiT

What AFiT does

AFiT (legal name Al-Faris Information Technologies Co. K.S.C. Closed) is a Kuwait-headquartered enterprise software and IT services company founded in July 1988 by Haitham S. Al-Faris. It provides banking, e-business, systems & security, and business solutions to financial institutions, telecom operators, large retailers, and government entities across the Middle East, with regional offices in Manama (Bahrain) and Cairo (Egypt). Its core product portfolio spans eTahseel (electronic bill payment and presentment hub), iExchange (money exchange CRM with SWIFT and STP), eTajer and iCoop (B2B and B2C commerce marketplaces), TrustedPay (payment processing integrated with KNET), and AFiT e-Banking (cross-channel online banking), supported by sub-products for property management (iProperty), ERP (iFinancials), and government/stock-exchange portals (eCouncil, eBoursa). The platform is built on best-of-breed open standards including Red Hat JBoss Enterprise Middleware (since the 2010 Advanced ISV partnership), with implementation governed by the proprietary AFiT 4Ds methodology based on Agile Unified Process and an Enterprise Project Management Office aligned to PMI standards.

AFiT generates revenue through a mix of one-time enterprise software licensing (e-Banking, iExchange, eTahseel, iCoop, eTajer deployments), professional services (consulting, implementation, customization, training), and recurring support contracts, with a more recent subscription/cloud layer introduced via the globally launched eTahseel Online Bill Payment Cloud Service in May 2016. Pricing is quote-based and tailored to client scope, with no publicly disclosed price list. Go-to-market is direct enterprise field sales supported by a regional office network in Bahrain and Egypt, supplemented by participation in industry events such as GITEX and a partner ecosystem spanning Red Hat, IBM, Novell, Entrust, Aconite, ATG, Hyperion, Bell ID, OpenText, Stellent, and Plexis Healthcare Systems. Marquee customers include Central Bank of Kuwait, Kuwait Stock Exchange, Kuwait Council of Ministers, Kuwait Ministry of Awqaf, Kuwait University, Boubyan Bank, Ahli United Bank Group, Al-Muzaini Exchange, Etisalat UAE, Kuwait Airways, and Kuwait Petrochemical Industries Company. The company is ISO 9001:2000 certified (since December 2003) and is privately held as a Kuwaiti Closed Shareholding Company; an attempt to list on the Kuwait Stock Exchange's parallel market was prepared in 2008 via a capital increase to KWD 3 million but did not result in an IPO, and AFiT remains private.

Name

AFiT

Legal name

Al-Faris Information Technologies Co. K. S. C. Closed

Website

https://afitco.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

1988

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

51–100 employees

Short description

AFiT is a Kuwait-based enterprise software firm founded in 1988 that delivers banking, electronic bill payment, e-commerce, payment processing, and security solutions to financial institutions, telecom operators, retailers, and government entities across the Middle East.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Enterprise Banking and e-Business Software

NAICS

Software Publishers (513210), Custom Computer Programming Services (541511)

SIC

Services-Computer Programming, Data Processing, Etc. (7370), Services-Engineering, Accounting, Research, Management (8700)

akta.pro primary industry

Enterprise Application License Advisory, Vendor Management & Optimization (BPAEAGAO)

akta.pro secondary industries

Technology, Software & IT Services (FSABACAJ), Core ERP Suites (Financials, Procurement, Projects) (HDAEAEAA)

Keywords

• Enterprise banking software
• Electronic bill payment
• B2B B2C marketplaces
• Identity management solutions
• IT consulting services

Headquarters

HQ city

Kuwait

HQ country

Kuwait

HQ region

Middle East

Offices3 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Software

Cost components

Personnel, Technology or R&D, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Infrastructure

Revenue model

1. Software Solutions and Licensing: AFiT generates revenue through sale and licensing of its proprietary e-Business solutions including banking solutions, e-commerce platforms, and systems & security solutions. Solutions are sold as enterprise software implementations.
2. Professional Services: Implementation consulting services, project management, and deployment services. Includes R&D, development, implementation and support for all company projects.
3. Consulting Services: Business consulting services helping clients realize return on enterprise software investment while creating lasting business improvements through proven methodology and collaborative approach.
4. Support Services: Flexible support programs including web, e-mail, telephone, and onsite support. Support plans can be purchased alongside products or separately for existing implementations.
5. Cloud Services: eTahseel Online Bill Payment Cloud Service - a cloud-hosted bill payment and presentment platform available globally.

Go-to-market motion2 records

Distribution channels3 records

Marketing channels4 records

Core offering

AFiT develops and licenses enterprise e-Business software for banking, commerce, and systems/security, including EBPP platforms, money exchange CRM, B2B and B2C marketplaces, online banking, identity management, ERP, and property management solutions. The firm sells these solutions to corporate clients across the Middle East alongside consulting, implementation, and support services, anchored by a proprietary 4Ds methodology and Red Hat JBoss middleware.

Product overview

AFiT provides innovative, open, and flexible e-Business solutions organized into four solution categories: Banking Solutions (Online and Mobile Banking, EBPP, Core Banking, Switching, Card Management, EMV and Basel II Compliance), Business Solutions (ERP, CRM, Property Management, Money Exchange Management), E-Business Solutions (Customer Experience Management, e-Commerce, Enterprise Content Management, Portal, B2C, B2B marketplaces), and Systems & Security Solutions (Identity and Access Management, Authentication, Authorization, SSO, Desktop/Server Management, Virtualization). The core product portfolio includes eTahseel (electronic bill payment hub), iExchange (money exchange CRM), eTajer (B2B marketplace), iCoop (B2C consumer marketplace), TrustedPay (payment service), e-Banking (online banking), iProperty (property management), iFinancials (ERP), eBoursa (stock exchange portal), and eCouncil (government portal). The company operates primarily in the Middle East serving financial institutions, telecom companies, and large retailers.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• eTahseel: Electronic Bill Payment and Presentment Hub Solution - facilitates an open system that receives e-Bills from billers and distributes them to many consumer endpoints, offering on-line payment services.
• iExchange
• iCoop
• eTajer
• TrustedPay

Products and services

• eTahseel Electronic Bill Payment and Presentment (EBPP) hub solution that facilitates an open system receiving e-Bills from billers and distributing them to multiple consumer endpoints, offering online payment services with multiple payment channels and multi-currency support for financial institutions, billers and payers.
• iExchange Branch Office Automation CRM Solution for Money Exchange Business: scalable, web-based CRM with bilingual interface, SWIFT interface, real-time straight-through-processing (STP), built-in audit reports, daily journals, and over 60 customized reports, targeted at money exchange operators.
• eTajer Electronic marketplace for commercial goods (B2B): secure, scalable, reliable e-Commerce platform with product-based discounting, unlimited tax and shipping zones, sales reporting, affiliate tracking, and real-time credit card payment processing, for merchants operating B2B online businesses.
• iCoop Electronic marketplace for groceries and consumer goods (B2C): CRM-driven online grocery shopping platform enabling subscribed cooperative societies and supermarkets to offer consumers home delivery shopping services, integrated with TrustedPay payment service.
• TrustedPay End-to-end payment service enabling secure online payment processing, integrated with KNET and supporting Visa Electron processing for online transactions within AFiT's e-commerce platforms.
• AFiT e-Banking Cross-channel online banking solution delivering a unified customer experience across all channels and entities, with Optimized Online Banking (OOB) capabilities supporting multiple banking entities for retail and corporate banks.
• iProperty Property management solution for effective management of property operations and assets.
• iFinancials ERP solution for financial management covering accounting, financial reporting, and business financial operations.
• eBoursa Electronic portal solution for stock exchange operations.
• eCouncil Electronic portal solution for government council operations and e-Government initiatives.
• Consulting Services Business consulting services helping clients realize return on enterprise software investment while creating lasting business improvements through proven methodology and collaborative approach.
• Professional Services Implementation consulting services, project management, and deployment services including R&D, development, implementation, and support for all AFiT projects.
• Support Services Flexible support programs including web, e-mail, telephone, and onsite support; support plans can be purchased alongside products or separately for existing implementations.

Quantifiable outcome

• Customer support cost reduction - some estimate 70% of telephone-based customer support questions are billing-related, addressed by eTahseel bill payment solution

Named customers12 records

Segments4 records

Ideal customer profiles4 records

Technology focussed Yes

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature4 records

Partnerships

Six partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.

• Red HatcoreTechnology or Integration · 26 October 2010AFiT became Red Hat Advance ISV Partner with JBoss Middleware Specialization in October 2010. The partnership provides access to Red Hat professional services, support organization, training services, Partner Center, and marketing support. AFiT runs its e-Banking and e-Tahseel solutions on Red Hat JBoss Enterprise Platform.
• Plexis Healthcare SystemsminorStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 March 2009Strategic partnership for healthcare systems solutions announced in March 2009.
• StellentcoreTechnology or Integration · 18 October 2005Partnership for Enterprise Content Management (ECM) solutions. AFiT delivers Stellent solutions to multiple clients including Al-Manar Financing & Leasing Company and Kuwait Stock Exchange.
• EntrustcoreTechnology or Integration · 19 July 2005Strong partnership formed in July 2005 and extended in 2007 to provide secure identity management and authentication solutions. AFiT and Entrust extended partnership coverage throughout the Middle East.
• ATG (Art Technology Group)coreTechnology or Integration · 9 September 2000Strategic partnership announced in September 2000 for ATG Portal Suite solutions. AFiT delivers web services solutions based on ATG Portal to clients including Al-Muzaini Exchange and Kuwait Stock Exchange.
• NovellcoreTechnology or Integration · 25 May 1998Long-standing partnership for Novell solutions including GroupWise, identity management, and infrastructure solutions. AFiT provided Novell Corporate License Agreement to Gulf Bank and deployed Novell infrastructure across multiple government and enterprise clients.

Scale indicators4 records

Recent moves8 records

Expansion highlights6 records

Broad incumbents

• Network International: Leading Middle East payments processor offering merchant acquiring, card management, and digital payment solutions — directly comparable to AFiT's eTahseel EBPP and TrustedPay product lines.
• TCS (Tata Consultancy Services): Global IT services major with significant Middle East banking and government delivery presence — competes with AFiT on large-scale transformation mandates and core-banking implementations across the GCC.
• Temenos: Global banking software vendor offering core, digital, and payments platforms widely adopted across GCC banks — competing with AFiT's e-Banking suite at the platform layer while AFiT positions as the local SI/implementer.
• FIS (Fidelity National Information Services): Large incumbent financial technology provider delivering core banking, payments, and digital channels — competes head-to-head with AFiT in GCC bank digital transformation programs and with EBPP offerings.

Direct peers

• Gulf Business Machines (GBM): IBM partner headquartered in Kuwait with deep Gulf-region banking and government IT services footprint — competes for the same enterprise digital transformation mandates and runs a similar partner-led delivery model.
• Ejada Systems: Middle East-based IT services and systems integrator serving banking, government, and telecom clients with custom enterprise software and managed services — directly comparable in geography, customer verticals, and delivery model to AFiT.
• MDS for Computer Systems: Regional systems integrator with Middle East operations delivering enterprise software, banking, and government IT solutions — comparable scope of services and customer base to AFiT.
• International Turnkey Systems (ITS): Middle East-headquartered software provider specializing in banking and financial services solutions (core, Islamic finance, payments) — overlaps with AFiT's e-Banking and EBPP product set and bank-led GTM motion.

Regional players

• Saudi Business Machines (SBM): IBM-affiliated systems integrator serving Saudi enterprise and government IT needs — analogous GCC SI peer to AFiT but focused predominantly on the Saudi Arabian market.

Emerging players

• Optasia (formerly MENA-focused mobile/fintech platforms): Emerging fintech enabler serving Middle East and emerging markets with digital payments and bill-payment infrastructure — comparable to AFiT's eTahseel EBPP ambition, though at a much larger and faster-scaling trajectory.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/afitco
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/alfarisit-company

Compliance3 records

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles9 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about AFiT