Muhannad Ebwini, Founder & CEO, Hyperpay • Interview

Hyperpay saw a huge spike during lockdown, more than tripling its numbers thanks to a cashless transaction boom. The firm, however, has been no stranger to explosive growth rates in recent years.

What impact have you seen from the pandemic in terms of volumes and types of transactions?

The impact has been enormous. The Kingdom is far above the government’s target of 28% cashless transactions by 2020. We saw interesting trends during the lockdown; some merchants completely closed down, while others, especially food and home deliveries, tripled their sales. There were also trends in home furniture tied to people wanting to relax in their homes. After a while, we started seeing a growing demand for small office furniture such as desks, chairs, and laptops. A month or so after the lockdown, we started to see female categories, such as makeup, perfumes, and beauty products growing. Hyperpay saw a truly huge spike during the lockdown, more than tripling its numbers. We are one of the few companies growing faster during COVID-19. The impact was positive for Hyperpay. Our official target was 200% growth in 2020 compared to 2019, but now we will reach more than 200% in 2020.

Could you have achieved 200% growth without the pandemic?

Yes, we could have because we were doing over 200% growth in the volume of transactions in the past four years. In July, when things opened up, the number of transactions slightly slowed down, but was still relatively higher than before the pandemic. Of our new customers, I would say a minimum of 30-40% will continue to use online transactions even when other options return. The impact was positive, and it is definitely in line with the strategy of the Kingdom to digitalize everything.

As a result of the pandemic, what have you seen in terms of the differences between the number of transactions and overall revenues?

The average expenditure per user fell, because certain sectors came to a complete halt, such as entertainment, airlines, travel, and so on. Usually, those sectors make big volumes, with an average of between SAR1,000 and SAR1,500 per transaction. The growth came mainly from delivery apps with an average transaction of SAR100-120. There is definitely a gap between the average transactions before and after COVID. Although we saw an increase in the number of transactions and in volume, in terms of revenue we saw a small drop. We predict to end up with 150-170% growth in revenue between 2019 and 2020. Our plan was to hit 220230%.

Can you tell us about your partnership strategy?

From the beginning, we had a mission to partner with everyone. Today, Hyperpay is the only payment gateway with access to all banks in KSA. We work with all 11 banks in Saudi Arabia, and this gives our clients and merchants the ability to choose the bank they prefer to deal with. With regard to STC Pay, we consider it a partner, and this partnership is growing. You will see increasing collaboration between STC Pay and Hyperpay in the near future.