Visa, one of the world’s largest electronic payment companies, has opened a new office in Dubai that will serve as the regional headquarters for approximately 90 countries in Central and Eastern Europe, the Middle East, and Africa (Cemea).

According to the company, the 9,290-square-metre office in Dubai Internet City is designed to promote a hybrid working environment and will eventually house up to 750 employees.

The office will also include an innovation center to help the company realize its goals of tapping into the region’s rapidly growing digital commerce industry.

“The new space is a realization of our vision of a future workplace – a place where our employees, clients, and partners can seamlessly collaborate to create solutions, develop user experiences, and share ideas – all with the goal of helping businesses, individuals, and economies thrive,” said Andrew Torre, Visa’s Cemea region president.

Online payment companies are expanding as consumers increasingly transact online in the midst of the pandemic.

According to a recent McKinsey & Company report, the global payments industry experienced its first contraction in 11 years last year but is on track to quickly return to its long-term growth trajectory, aided by the digitization of consumer and commercial transactions.

The industry’s losses in 2020, largely due to the Covid-19 pandemic, will be recouped this year, allowing revenue to return to the range of 2019’s record high and reach $2.5 trillion by 2025, according to the report.

The 929-square-meter innovation center at Visa’s Cemea headquarters will include experience zones for connected homes, rapid transit, connected cars, cryptocurrency, retail concepts, and airline lounges, as well as a small merchant bazaar.

The new facility will also house Cemea’s first Visa University campus, which will host a variety of training and educational programs for employees, clients, and partners.

Torre, who described the office as a “important milestone” for its operations in the Cemea region, added that it is also intended to ensure employee well-being.

“We want to offer our employees the flexibility of a hybrid work model, and we have put in place the necessary infrastructure, technology, and policies to support a work environment that allows for both on-site and remote working, as well as several health and safety solutions that will always prioritize the health and safety of our employees and visitors,” he said.

Visa exceeded expectations in its fiscal fourth quarter, with net revenue increasing 29% year on year to $6.6 billion.

Net income for the three months ending September 30 was $3.6 billion, or $1.65 per share, an increase of 68% and 70%, respectively, over the previous year.

In addition, the company reported an increase in cryptocurrency transactions, with Visa users spending more than $1 billion on products and services via cryptocurrency-linked cards globally in the first half of 2021.