Arab Financial Services has launched AFS PRO Tap to Pay on iPhone in Bahrain, letting merchants accept contactless payments without extra hardware.
Bahrain-based Arab Financial Services (AFS) made the announcement at the fourth edition of Gateway Gulf. The forum, hosted by the Bahrain Economic Development Board, was held under the theme ‘Reimagining Global Partnerships, Powering Sustainable Growth’. With the new service, merchants can use an iPhone they already own as a payment acceptance device, removing the need for a separate point-of-sale terminal.
How the service works
AFS PRO Tap to Pay on iPhone allows customers to complete a transaction by holding a payment card, smartphone, or wearable device against the merchant’s iPhone. On the merchant side, the phone itself handles acceptance, with no card reader or other equipment added to the existing setup.
AFS has positioned the service for businesses that operate on the move and for which a dedicated terminal is not always practical. This group includes independent retailers, entrepreneurs, service providers, and pop-up businesses. The service is also presented as an additional checkout option for merchants that want more flexibility in how they take payments.
Commenting on the launch, Samer Soliman, Group Chief Executive Officer of Arab Financial Services, said that merchants are looking for technology that fits the way they run their businesses rather than requiring them to adapt to it, describing the iPhone-based service as a practical response to that demand.
UAE launch planned with Mawarid Finance and Mastercard
The Bahrain launch is the first step of a wider rollout. AFS has said it is preparing to introduce the service in the UAE in early November 2026, working with Mawarid Finance and Mastercard. The expansion is framed as part of AFS’s focus on broadening access to digital payment solutions.
The UAE rollout builds on an existing relationship between AFS and Mastercard. In August 2026, the two companies launched corporate credit and prepaid cards integrated with the AFS Pro app, with rollout set to start in the UAE and then extend to Egypt. That offering presented AFS Pro as a single application through which businesses can manage both outgoing spend and incoming payments. On the acceptance side, it included tap-to-phone SoftPOS functionality, pay-by-link for remote transactions, and real-time transaction dashboards. The iPhone-based service adds a further acceptance channel under the AFS Pro brand.
The UAE market falls within AFS’s existing regulatory footprint. The company is licensed by the Central Bank of the UAE and operates offices and data centres in the country, alongside Bahrain, Egypt, and Oman.
