PayBy Obtains Mastercard Principal Membership to Offer BIN Sponsorship Services

UAE-licensed fintech PayBy, part of Astra Tech, announced it has obtained a Mastercard principal membership license, making it a first-of-its-kind agreement in the region. Under the partnership, PayBy can issue prepaid and debit cards and serve as an acquirer on the Mastercard network. Critically, PayBy will also offer BIN sponsorship services, enabling third-party fintechs to issue prepaid cards through Mastercard's infrastructure.

The deal extends embedded payment capabilities to the over 100 million users of BOTIM, Astra Tech's messaging super app. This positions PayBy as a BaaS-style enabler in the MENA region, providing card issuance and acquiring infrastructure to other fintechs. No specific financial terms were disclosed.

The partnership reflects growing demand for embedded finance solutions in the Middle East and the expansion of global card networks into BaaS-adjacent models.