Dubai’s DIFC partners with global payments provider WorldFirst

Dubai International Financial Centre (DIFC) has partnered with global currency exchange and payments company, WorldFirst, to support global money transfers in multiple currencies from across the region.

WorldFirst’s expansion to DIFC will help it extend currency exchange services and cross-border payment solutions to e-commerce businesses and individuals across the Middle East, Africa and South Asia (MEASA) region, a statement said.

WorldFirst’s launch is in line with DIFC’s strategy to diversify the financial services industry and attract global brands to the centre.

“WorldFirst joins more than 2,300 active registered organisations and a fintech community of more than 100 firms that have made the DIFC their location of choice in order to service the MEASA region,” said Arif Amiri, chief executive officer, DIFC Authority.

“The launch of WorldFirst in the centre will enable the organisation to tap into the Middle East, North Africa and South Asia region’s burgeoning e-commerce market which is projected to be worth $97bn by 2020 and continue their upward growth trajectory.”

Jonathan Quin, CEO, WorldFirst said: “To date, more than 250,000 global customers have chosen WorldFirst for their international transfers. We have transferred $70bn for customers since our launch and undertaken more than one million transfers per year. Now is an exciting time for the e-commerce industry and we believe the Middle East offers vast potential for growth.”

WorldFirst works with international companies such as Amazon and is currently responsible for over 80 per cent of Amazon transactions within the UK. In February 2019, it was acquired by Ant Financial, the financial technology arm of Alibaba group holding limited, the statement said.

DIFC registered over 100 fintech firms since the end of 2018 in a bid to grow its fintech ecosystem, according to a September report.

Read: Over 100 fintech firms register in Dubai’s DIFC since 2018

The centre also offers firms subsidised licensing options and access to a $100m fintech fund managed by Middle East Venture Partners (MEVP) and Wamda Capital.