\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n Ain Alalam – Rashad Iskandrni<\/strong><\/p>\n 05 Feb 2026: <\/strong>Riyadh Air and Mastercard today unveiled a bold strategic alliance that brings together payments, travel and technology to reshape how people and businesses experience global travel. With no legacy programs in place, Riyadh Air is in a unique position to jointly create an extensive financial and payment ecosystem that is unprecedented from day one. The collaboration introduces a powerful suite of innovations spanning consumer payments, premium airport experiences and next-generation B2B travel payments \u2013 positioning Saudi Arabia at the forefront of global travel evolution.<\/p>\n \n A New Era of Seamless, Reward-Driven Travel<\/strong><\/p>\n As the new national carrier of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia and with a strong commitment to be a digital native, the collaboration will see the launch of Riyadh Air-branded Mastercard credit and prepaid cards<\/strong>.<\/p>\n \n Designed to turn everyday spending into extraordinary travel, the cards will allow cardholders to earn flights, upgrades, lifestyle rewards and exclusive experiences, all seamlessly embedded within the Riyadh Air ecosystem. Set to roll out to Saudi residents in late 2026, the digital-first cards will be fully integrated into the Riyadh Air mobile app, enabling guests to apply, activate, manage features and track rewards effortlessly in one place.<\/p>\n \n \u201cThis partnership reflects Mastercard\u2019s role in creating meaningful solutions, paving the way for smart, secure and seamless payments,\u201d said Dr. Dimitrios Dosis, President, Eastern Europe, Middle East and Africa, Mastercard.<\/strong> \u201cTogether with Riyadh Air, we are creating an integrated digitally-native ecosystem that delivers value at every touchpoint\u2014for guests, travel agents, airlines and hospitality partners\u2014while reinforcing Saudi Arabia\u2019s role as a global travel hub.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cOur deep collaboration with Mastercard clearly reflects not only our commitment to be a digital native airline but strong confidence in our future trajectory. It allows us to build a travel experience that is seamless, digital and distinctly differentiated,\u201d said Adam Boukadida, Chief Financial Officer, Riyadh Air<\/strong>. \u201cWe are fortunate to be in a highly unique situation where we can implement many different solutions at the same time, from integrated payments and rewards to premium airport experiences and innovative virtual payment solutions. This collaboration enables us to deliver exceptional journeys for our guests around the world.\u201d<\/p>\n Modernizing the Travel Trade with global-first B2B payments solutions<\/strong><\/p>\n Extending beyond the guest experience, Riyadh Air has also become the first airline globally to introduce an<\/strong> airline-branded virtual card program<\/strong> for travel trade settlements. Through this streamlined payment solution, Riyadh Air will be offering travel intermediaries worldwide improved efficiency, security and reconciliation while unlocking new growth opportunities across the travel value chain.<\/p>\n \n Co-Creating the Future of Travel Innovation<\/strong><\/p>\n To foster a culture of learning, experimentation, and innovation, Mastercard and Riyadh Air will establish a joint center of excellence, a platform to design, test, and scale new solutions, leveraging disruptive technologies and real-world use cases.<\/p>\n \n Focusing on agentic innovation, shared data insights, and upskilling the next generation of talent, the hub will enable Mastercard and Riyadh Air to respond rapidly to market needs.<\/p>\n \n Powering Saudi Arabia\u2019s Rise as a Global Travel Hub<\/strong><\/p>\n As demand for travel to and from Saudi Arabia accelerates \u2013 driven by economic diversification, infrastructure investment and tourism growth \u2013 this alliance supports the Kingdom\u2019s momentum by modernizing financial flows and enhancing the end-to-end travel experience.<\/p>\n \n According to Mastercard\u2019s Travel Trends Report 2025<\/a>, Riyadh is experiencing a sharp surge in passenger traffic, reflecting Saudi Arabia\u2019s accelerating emergence as a global travel and business hub. Strategic investments are fueling job creation and business mobility, while world-class tourism and leisure infrastructure is reshaping the Kingdom\u2019s appeal for international travelers.<\/p>\n \n About Mastercard<\/strong><\/p>\n Mastercard powers economies and empowers people in 200+ countries and territories worldwide. Together with our customers, we\u2019re building a resilient economy where everyone can prosper. We support a wide range of digital payments choices, making transactions secure, simple, smart and accessible. Our technology and innovation, partnerships and networks combine to deliver a unique set of products and services that help people, businesses and governments realize their greatest potential.<\/p>\n www.mastercard.com<\/a><\/p>\n \n \n About Riyadh Air<\/strong>\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n \u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n Riyadh Air is the world\u2019s newest, world-class global airline. Owned by PIF and launched in March 2023, the\u00a0digitally led,\u00a0full-service carrier that adopts\u00a0robust,\u00a0global sustainability and safety practices across its advanced fleet of\u00a0aircraft. Riyadh Air\u00a0equips\u00a0its\u00a0aircraft\u00a0with the most advanced,\u00a0state-of-the-art\u00a0features with innovative, best-in-class cabin interiors and experiences, including next-generation digital in-flight entertainment systems and connectivity solutions. Riyadh Air\u00a0aims\u00a0to\u00a0connect guests to over 100\u00a0destinations around the world by 2030 through offering an exceptional guest experience with an authentic, warm Saudi hospitality at its heart.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 For more information, visit www.riyadhair.com<\/a>\u00a0.\u00a0 For any enquiries, contact media@riyadhair.com<\/a><\/p>\n[\/mhc_text][\/mhc_column][\/mhc_row][\/mhc_section]\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" [mhc_section admin_label=”\u0642\u0633\u0645” fullwidth=”on” specialty=”off”][mhc_fullwidth_menu admin_label=”\u0642\u0627\u0626\u0645\u0629 \u0628\u0639\u0631\u0636 \u0643\u0627\u0645\u0644” menu_id=”56″ background_color=”#ffffff” background_layout=”light” text_orientation=”center” submenu_direction=”downwards” fullwidth_menu=”off”] [\/mhc_fullwidth_menu][\/mhc_section][mhc_section admin_label=”section” transparent_background=”off” gradient_background=”off” background_color=”#ffffff” gradient_style=”horizontal” inner_shadow=”on” parallax=”off” parallax_method=”off” video_hide=”off” video_pause=”off” allow_advanced_padding=”on” remove_padding=”on” force_fullwidth=”off” column_paddings=”padding-0pct” column_match_heights=”off” background_leak=”off” background_leak_color=”#ffffff” background_leak_size=”25″ separator_top=”off” separator_bottom=”off” background_image_size=”cover” background_image_repeat=”no-repeat” background_image_position_x=”center” background_image_position_y=”center” animation=”off” animation_color=”#ffffff” mobile_2_pr_row=”off” mobile_reverse=”off”][mhc_row admin_label=”row”][mhc_column type=”1_3″][mhc_image admin_label=”\u0635\u0648\u0631\u0629” src=”https:\/\/ainalalam.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/04\/ainlogo.png” show_in_lightbox=”off” url_new_window=”off” animation=”off” hoverfx=”scaleup” sticky=”off” image_mask=”off” border_radius=”0″ align=”center” force_center_on_mobile=”on” […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":111339,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[49],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-111341","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-coverage"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/ainalalam.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/111341","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/ainalalam.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/ainalalam.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ainalalam.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ainalalam.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=111341"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/ainalalam.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/111341\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ainalalam.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/111339"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/ainalalam.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=111341"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ainalalam.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=111341"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ainalalam.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=111341"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}![\"\"](\"https:\/\/ainalalam.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/PHOTO-2026-02-05-14-03-43.jpg-300x152.jpeg\")
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