The World Has Shifted, The Future Has Already Begun, And It's Online, Says HyperPay CEO Muhannad Ebwini

With Covid-19 causing more businesses to close their doors or drastically reduce their operations, the ones who were fast enough to migrate online in time are the ones who will most likely make it with the least negative impacts on their business.

HyperPay’s CEO Muhannad Ebwini said HyperPay has seen a phenomenal 150% increase in transactions on delivery, grocery, telecom, and digital services in general, and it seems that the numbers are increasing dramatically by the hour.

During an interview with Muhannad Ebwini, he explores the role of digital payments and how the MENA region’s leading payment service provider, HyperPay, has been boosting growth for micro, small, midsize, and large enterprises, as businesses begin to take rapid measures to rescue their business by taking their operations fully online.

HyperPay’s role during Covid-19

HyperPay is involved in the domain of cashless payments, but what is your company’s role during the crisis in specific?

For the past few years, the Kingdom has taken important measures to pave the way for a cashless future by the year 2030.

Naturally, when Covid-19 was announced as a global pandemic, all companies wanted to avoid the risk of human contact, and opting for contactless payments was an absolutely necessary step. Our role is to make sure that all merchants are able to guarantee business continuity by enabling them to accept payments online in no-time, and with no extra effort.

Also, we are glad to be the payment gateway supporting all heroes out there during these days, such as some of the kingdom’s grocery service giants who have been working round the clock to deliver food and necessities to people.

We are also powering payments for essential e-commerce merchants who have been providing students and employees with all electronic necessities needed to keep them connected online, and to make studying or working remotely more convenient and efficient.

From a brighter perspective, do you believe that there are opportunities amid the crisis? And what about the opportunities for the offline businesses?

Absolutely. In fact, over the course of the past three weeks, we’ve helped more than 200 new merchants go-live and start accepting online payments, supporting almost 10 businesses a day. It’s been a crazy time for entrepreneurs and business owners, and they are moving incredibly fast, which is why we put in double the effort to match their speed.

We were also able to cater to SMEs and offline businesses, by offering them a smart invoicing service that we launched earlier last year, HyperBill. It’s a separate platform that enables any business to manage bills and receive payments online, with no need for a website or mobile app.

With the increase in online services, there are more and more marketplaces available these days. How does HyperPay support such business models that require merchants to transfer funds to multiple recipients?

We launched a payout payment solution last year, it’s called HyperSplits. It was a soft launch, and we onboarded a couple of merchants through some of our bank partners in Saudi Arabia. So far, we’re witnessing the rise in demand first-hand, by e-commerce marketplaces, freelancing marketplaces, and fundraising platforms.

That’s why our team has been dedicating some time to develop and enhance the service even further, as well as make it available through all banks inside the Kingdom and across the region.

What’s it been like for the HyperPay team working remotely and under such pressure?

Working remotely is new to us as a company, but seeing the positive results coming out of it has been amazing, and possibly a game-changer. Although the team has been working more than 12 hours at times, to help keep the support fast and ongoing, the productivity has been energizing rather than stressful. Helping our partners weather the economic storm is one of our top priorities at HyperPay, and witnessing the great results is what keeps the team giving on a daily basis.

What the future looks like

In your opinion, how will consumer behaviour transform post coronavirus pandemic?

As Covid-19 started to spread, there was an incredible demand and quick adoption of online shopping for groceries, eCommerce, and delivery services in general. We predict that this consumer behaviour will last long after the crisis ends, as relying on apps and digital platforms for shopping online becomes the new preferred way to shop for consumers all around the globe.

What do you believe are the expected industries to emerge as a result of this crisis?

As we can all see, the industries that have been rising during the crisis are, groceries delivery, education tech, health tech, streaming platforms, essential e-commerce, online gaming, online fitness, and digital platforms that support remote work. And as people’s behaviour start to transform as a result of the crisis, it would be safe to say that we can expect those emerging industries to continue to rise even after Covid-19 ends.

In what ways is HyperPay preparing for the post Covid-19 future?

Crises tend to provoke business innovation, and we have been working on new products that can simplify the payment experience for merchants and their customers, during and after the crisis.

We have addressed all the challenges that businesses may face when it comes to accepting payment online, and are quickly turning them into products that are flexible to fit every business model, and can enhance the speed at which businesses can go-live with online payments.

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