Saudi e-commerce platform Salla has acquired payments company Paylink in a strategic move designed to deepen its financial technology capabilities and expand the services available to merchants across digital and physical commerce channels. The transaction brings together Salla’s commerce infrastructure with Paylink’s payments technology and regulatory expertise, strengthening the platform’s ability to support merchants as they manage transactions, scale operations, and reach new customers. Financial terms of the acquisition were not disclosed.
Expanding Salla’s Financial Services Capabilities
Salla said the acquisition forms part of its broader strategy to build a more integrated ecosystem spanning commerce, payments, and financial services. By bringing Paylink into its platform, the company aims to move beyond its existing role in helping merchants manage online sales and operations toward offering more advanced financial tools tailored to business growth. The combination is expected to support a more unified experience for accepting, processing, and managing payments across multiple sales environments.
Paylink is a Saudi fintech company licensed by the Saudi Central Bank to provide e-commerce payment services and also holds the Saudi Tech designation. The company has developed payment infrastructure that supports merchants and businesses through a range of electronic payment solutions, including multiple payment methods and currencies. Its technology is designed to support both domestic and international commerce, giving Salla additional capabilities as it expands its financial services offering.
Bridging Online and Physical Commerce
A key focus of the acquisition is the development of payment solutions that work across both e-commerce and physical retail channels. Salla said the combined capabilities could pave the way for smarter point-of-sale services, including SoftPOS technology that allows compatible devices to accept contactless payments without requiring traditional card terminals. This would broaden the ways merchants can receive payments and create a more consistent commerce experience regardless of where a transaction takes place.
The acquisition also strengthens Salla’s ability to support Saudi merchants seeking to sell beyond the domestic market. Paylink’s infrastructure can facilitate international payment scenarios, multiple currencies, and a wider range of payment methods, helping merchants serve customers across different countries and channels. Salla said these capabilities could give Saudi brands greater flexibility as they pursue regional and global expansion.
Combining Commerce Scale With Payments Expertise
Salla brings to the transaction a large merchant base and extensive experience in the operational needs of e-commerce businesses. According to the company, its platform supports more than 65,000 active subscriber stores and has processed more than SAR 45 billion in sales volume. Integrating Paylink’s technical and regulatory capabilities with that merchant network could allow Salla to develop financial services that are more closely embedded within day-to-day commerce workflows.
Nawaf Hariri, founder and CEO of Salla, said financial services represent a natural extension of the company’s original mission to simplify how merchants build and grow their businesses. He said Paylink adds important capabilities and expertise that can help Salla create more integrated payment solutions and enable merchants to accept payments online and at points of sale, both inside and outside Saudi Arabia. The acquisition therefore marks a broader shift toward positioning Salla as a more comprehensive infrastructure provider for merchants rather than solely an e-commerce platform.
Salla’s acquisition of Paylink strengthens its push into fintech and gives the company additional technology, regulatory experience, and international payment capabilities. The deal is intended to create closer integration between commerce and financial services while supporting merchants across online stores, physical sales channels, and cross-border transactions. For Salla, the acquisition represents another step toward building a broader merchant ecosystem designed to support Saudi businesses as they grow domestically and expand into regional and global markets.