Mercury Payments Services

Name

Mercury Payments Services

Legal name

Mercury Payments Services LLC

Website

https://mercury-pay.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

2016

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

51–100 employees

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Payment Infrastructure

NAICS

Financial Transactions Processing, Reserve, and Clearinghouse Activities (522320), Computing Infrastructure Providers, Data Processing, Web Hosting, and Related Services (518)

akta.pro primary industry

Payment Orchestration Platforms (FSAGABAA)

akta.pro secondary industries

Payment Gateways & Orchestration (BPAMAFAA), Marketplace & Platform Payments (Split Payments, Sub-merchants) (FSAMACAG), Integrated POS Payments (ISVs & Vertical POS Platforms) (FSAMADAD)

Keywords

• Payment infrastructure
• Payment processing services
• National payment switch
• Domestic card scheme
• Merchant payment acceptance

Headquarters

HQ city

Dubai

HQ country

United Arab Emirates

HQ region

Middle East

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Software

Cost components

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

Revenue model

1. Managed Services Fees: Full-stack infrastructure, operations, and advisory services for domestic card schemes and national switches provided to central banks and governments
2. Scheme in a Box Licensing: Turnkey infrastructure licensing for governments and regulators to launch domestic card schemes with EMV specs, certification, and operating rules
3. Shukria Merchant Services: Payment acceptance services for businesses including POS, QR codes, and e-commerce with transaction fees and financing products

Go-to-market motion2 records

Distribution channels2 records

Marketing channels3 records

Core offering

Mercury Payments Services designs, deploys, and manages digital payment ecosystems for central banks, governments, and merchants. Its core offerings include full-stack Managed Services for national switches and domestic card schemes (clearing, settlement, reconciliation, fraud monitoring, EMV compliance), a turnkey Scheme in a Box licensing package for governments to launch domestic card schemes, and the Shukria merchant-facing payment acceptance platform spanning POS, SmartPOS, QR codes, kiosks, and e-commerce.

Product overview

Mercury Payments Services operates as a payment technology provider offering a portfolio of solutions for digital payment ecosystems. The portfolio consists of three main offerings: Managed Services (full-stack infrastructure and advisory for domestic card schemes and national switches), Scheme in a Box (turnkey platform for governments to launch domestic card schemes), and Shukria (merchant-facing payment acceptance platform). The Managed Services and Scheme in a Box products share common technology platform components including National Switch Architecture, Security & Risk Systems, Onboarding Simulators, and Infrastructure & Integrations, while Shukria serves as a distinct consumer-facing sub-brand for business payment acceptance.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Managed Services Full-stack infrastructure, operations, and advisory services for domestic card schemes and national switches, built for sovereignty and trusted by central banks. Includes Research & Advisory, Program Management, Technology Platform, and Scheme & Compliance components, designed for central banks and governments establishing or modernizing national payment infrastructure.
• Scheme in a Box Turnkey infrastructure solution enabling governments and regulators to design, launch, and scale domestic card schemes. Includes EMV specifications, built-in certification, full compliance frameworks, dispute and fraud management, and card design/branding aligned with national objectives.
• Shukria Payment services platform for businesses enabling acceptance of payments via POS, SmartPOS, QR codes, kiosks, and ecommerce. Includes 24/7 instant payouts, financing options, and loyalty tools, designed for merchants and businesses adopting digital payments in the UAE.

Segments2 records

Ideal customer profiles2 records

Technology focussed Yes

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature5 records

Partnerships

Two partnerships are on record, tiered core.

• RuPaycoreTechnology or IntegrationRuPay, India's domestic card payment network, is listed among Mercury's partners, indicating interoperability or integration capabilities for national payment schemes.
• Afreximbank (African Export-Import Bank)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerAfreximbank is a pan-African multilateral financial institution that supports the development of trade across Africa. Partnership indicates support for Mercury's African market expansion and trade finance initiatives.

Scale indicators2 records

Recent moves1 record

Expansion highlights6 records

Emerging players

• Yoco: Yoco provides SMB payment acceptance (POS, online) across South Africa. Comparable to the Shukria merchant acceptance platform in scope and target segment, though geographically distinct.

Direct peers

• Onafriq (formerly MFS Africa): Onafriq operates mobile money and payment infrastructure across Africa, including scheme-style interoperability networks. Comparable to Mercury on the African expansion axis and on cross-border payment infrastructure.
• Network International: UAE-headquartered payments processor serving merchants and financial institutions across MEA. Directly comparable to Mercury on both the merchant acceptance side (Shukria) and the regional B2B infrastructure side.
• Temenos: Temenos provides core banking and payments software to banks and central banks worldwide, including scheme and transaction-processing capabilities that overlap with Mercury's national-switch offerings.
• SIA (part of Nexi Group): SIA operates payment infrastructure and card processing for banks and central banks in Europe. Comparable to Mercury on national switch architecture and scheme operations, though primarily European.
• OpenWay: OpenWay provides card issuing, processing and payment platform software to banks globally, including national switch deployments. Directly comparable to Mercury on the scheme technology stack.
• BPC Banking Technologies: BPC delivers payment processing, card scheme and digital banking platforms to banks and central banks across emerging markets. Directly comparable to Mercury's Managed Services and Scheme in a Box product lines.
• ACI Worldwide: ACI Worldwide provides real-time payments, fraud, and national switch infrastructure to banks and central banks globally. It is the closest comparable to Mercury's Managed Services and Scheme in a Box offerings.

Broad incumbents

• Visa: Global card network with extensive scheme, processing and acceptance capabilities. Competes with Mercury at the scheme level and offers overlapping acceptance infrastructure, but as part of a vastly broader product portfolio.
• Mastercard: Global card network providing scheme, processing and acceptance services. Competes broadly with Mercury's Scheme in a Box and Shukria offerings, with significantly larger scale and brand recognition.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/mercury_pay
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/mercury-payments-services

Compliance2 records

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles8 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 Mercury Payments Services