#Fintech

Fintechs

Why bank and tech giants are losing their experts to fintechs

Significant numbers of employees are moving from tech firms like Amazon.com and Microsoft to fintech companies

luxury e-commerce

An overview of the Middle East fintech landscape

The Middle East has seen an influx of fintech startups, new funding and increased support for existing and new ventures

Alinma Bank Saudi

Alinma Bank, Foodics sign strategic fintech partnership to empower SMBs in Saudi

The two brands will launch new products to enable small business owners to have full autonomy over their business decisions

Fintech e-commerce

How fintech is shaping the future of e-commerce

By integrating innovative fintech solutions, e-commerce businesses can enhance operations to deliver the ultimate customer experience

IPOs

Here are Asia’s biggest IPOs to watch for the second half

Share sales globally plummeted some 70 per cent from a year ago in the first half, to levels not seen in almost two decades

YAP

Dubai-based fintech YAP raises $41m to fuel growth

The company plans to complete its Series A by the end of the year

Ewallet

UAE telco e& rebrands eWallet to transform fintech space

UAE citizens, residents, and businesses will benefit from e& money through an enhanced customer experience

Mastercard NymCard tie-up

Mastercard certifies NymCard as a principal issuer

Fintechs, startups and financial institutions can now plug and play into NymCard’s modern BaaS infrastructure to issue their own Mastercard cards

tracking tool

Fintech firm Modifi unveils free shipment tracking tool for cross-border commerce

The open-for-all shipment tracking tool helps businesses to track and manage shipments in one glance, on one platform

developer portal

Abu Dhabi’s ADIB launches API developer portal to drive open banking

The new portal will enable fintech developers to use the lender’s APIs for the purpose of developing their own applications

VaultsPay and Wibmo launch pre-paid card for underbanked in GCC

VaultsPay, Wibmo to launch pre-paid card for GCC’s underbanked segment

Aimed at serving the large population of underbanked people in region, the pre-paid card will go live in the third quarter of the year

Rapyd DIFC

Fintech Rapyd becomes first DIFC-registered Israeli company

The company plans to hire 120 employees in Dubai across the R&D, product, operations and HR departments within the next 18 months

Network International

Network International partners with FreedomPay

Strategic collaboration will enable Network to offer a fully integrated payments platform to its hospitality and retail merchants in UAE and MEA region

valU EFG-Karim-Awad

FAS Labs, valU partner to offer digital consumer finance services in Saudi Arabia

The agreement will accelerate the geographical expansion of valU and provide digital finance solutions to consumers in Saudi Arabia through FAS Finance

UAE Bank

Nearly 90% UAE banking customers find account opening too complicated

Identity proofing platform IDnow and YouGov research finds UAE residents are frustrated by bank account applications

FOO Fintech

Fintech solution provider FOO expands operations into Saudi Arabia

FOO works with banks, fintech companies and retailers across the MENA region to provide digital products that enhance business models and customer experience

Network Nayax retail Getty images

Network, Nayax to expand UAE’s unattended self-service retail segment

Network and Nayax’s solution allows customers to select a product or service and pay using a debit or credit card at unattended self-service payment kiosks

Zenda

MENA’s fintech school fee app, zenda, raises $9.4m in seed round

Zenda, is the first fintech app that lets parents to pay school fees with pay-now and pay-later options, and unlock rewards for paying on time

Digital wallet

Careem Pay launches peer-to-peer transfer facility and digital wallet in the UAE

It will soon issue Careem cards that can be used at ATMs and merchants, and will also introduce international remittance solutions

DIFC-based Tarabut gateway

DIFC-based fintech Tarabut Gateway receives DFSA licence

This licence marks the first time the DFSA has authorised a firm to provide account information services and payment initiation services activities

UAE’s fintech startup FlexxPay expands into Egypt

The company estimates that around 20 million people across Egypt could benefit from early wage access

Dubai-based Stake hosts MIT student team for six-month project

The project will entail developing a analytics model that will collect historical market data on Dubai’s residential market dating back over 10 years

Wa’ed Ventures and Maydan Capital to fund ‘ethical’ fintechs in Saudi

The two companies will coordinate and collaborate on finding, backing and mentoring founders as they launch and grow their ethically-focused startups

Bahrain-based cryptocurrency platform Rain announces 0% trading fees

The simplified fee structure aims to help customers feel more comfortable and confident placing their first trade in the crypto world

How DIFX is bridging the gap between traditional and digital assets

With a growing startup ecosystem and tech-driven individuals, the Middle East region is on the verge of becoming a global fintech leader, says Jeetu Kataria, co-founder and CEO at DIFX

Binance

How fintech solutions can support small exporters

Fintech companies are uniquely positioned to fill the gap and help SMEs get access to flexible injections of liquidity

UAE’s ADGM Academy, National University of Singapore sign MoU

The partnership will explore deep-tech solutions to challenges facing the financial services sector

UAE’s ADGM and Finastra team up for ‘Hack to the Future 4’

ADGM’s hackathon is seeing participants explore innovative ideas around themes of ESG, embedded finance and decentralised finance

Dubai’s Shuaa Capital acquires majority stake in Souqalmal

Shuaa joins existing investors Riyad Capital and UK comparison website GoCompare

Bahrain’s Central Bank issues operating licence to Binance

Bahrain is the first GCC country to issue regulatory approvals to the blockchain and cryptocurrency infrastructure provider