#Fintech

Charting the growth of the regional fintech ecosystem

Saxo Bank MENA’s CEO Damian Hitchen talks about the region’s fintech space and the challenges faced by the financial sector

How One Global helps make day-to-day digital service payments more mobile

Our forward-thinking approach and business platforms are on the verge of disrupting the status quo for entrepreneurs, says Mohammed Al-Rashidi, executive chairman, One Global

Dubai tech unicorn Zeta and Mastercard announce partnership

The partnership aims to maximise the safety, security and convenience of e-commerce, online banking and contactless transactions

FOO, NymCard partner to bring end-to-end payment solutions for innovators in MENA

With the signing of this partnership agreement, both the companies aim to play a key role in supporting the growth of the fintech ecosystem in the region

The growth of the fintech sector in the Middle East

Moving towards more homogenised regional frameworks can catalyse a wave of new fintechs to scale globally, opines Oliver Obitayo, CEO of IDnow Middle East 

The Global Blockchain Business Council appoints Ola Lind as the UAE Ambassador

Lind joins 179 ambassadors from 86 jurisdictions in six continents that make up a select group of leaders in technology, government, and academia

How open banking is transforming the regional financial services

Tarabut Gateway’s 2022 MENA Open Banking Spotlight explores how regulation, implementation and adoption are enabling a new era of financial services across the region

Fintech company Postpay collaborates with Commercial Bank of Dubai

The strategic partnership will support Postpay on several fronts, including transaction banking, debt funding and e-commerce solutions

UAE’s Chimera Capital announces second close of VC fund at $10bn

The fund will target businesses with a focus on fintech, AI, life sciences, consumer internet and B2B sectors

Landmarks Of The City Of Riyadh, Kingdom Of Saudi Arabia

Sequoia picks Saudi fintech for first Gulf deal as foray expands

Sequoia is deepening its presence in the Middle East after recently backing companies from Turkey to Egypt

Fintech platform PayBy partners with Asfartrip.com

The launch of PayBy payment solutions on online travel platform Asfartrip is a step towards making cashless travel more inclusive

DCT Abu Dhabi signs MoU with fintech platform PayBy

The secure platform will be used across hospitality and tourism establishments

Future Fintech’s FTFT Capital launches cryptocurrency platform

FTFTX collects global currency and market data, directly linking markets and exchanges and making the data available to users 24 hours a day

UAE’s new digital bank Zand set to launch ‘imminently’ after Dubai Bank acquisition

Dubai Bank, acquired from Emirates NBD, will be relaunched as Zand

UAE looks to attract Asian firms to bolster crypto sector

The UAE has intensified its push to adopt the use of blockchain in recent years

Binance planning to tie up with Dubai for crypto activities – report

Dubai is reportedly being regarded as an option for the company’s global headquarters

Saudi Aramco

Saudi Aramco’s Wa’ed invests SAR19m in fintech startup Lamaa

The Riyadh-based startup was established in March 2021 by entrepreneur Sumeet Khutale who has recently relocated from London to the kingdom

Hub71

Abu Dhabi’s Hub71 partners with Stripe on payment solutions for tech startups

It will allow these startups to accept payments online, payout funds, and manage their business growth

fintech

VentureSouq launches MENA region’s first fintech fund

The $50m fund will invest in early-stage fintech and SaaS companies across the Middle East, Africa and Pakistan

Singapore’s The Social Loan Company secures investment from Abu Dhabi’s ARI Holding

The new capital will be used to fuel the growth of its digital lending operations, deepen its AI and predictive analytics capabilities and grow its global talent pool

YAP

Dubai-based fintech YAP launches region’s ‘first’ virtual card

YAP, which launched earlier this year, claims it is now “onboarding hundreds per day”

Emirates Development Bank

UAE’s Emirates Development Bank partners with YAP to launch business banking app for SMEs

The EDB Business Banking app is free to open and has no minimum balance criteria

Shailesh Dash

Dubai investor Shailesh Dash evaluates H1 performance of healthtech, medtech and fintech stocks

Since the beginning of 2021, the changing market narratives have led to higher uncertainty and increased volatility in global equities

UAE fintech Sarwa closes $15m Series B financing round

Mubadala Investment Company led the round, joined by other investors

Mubadala-backed Dubai fintech startup loads up on debt financing

Tabby has raised more than $30m in funding from local and global investors

Abdulmajeed Alsukhan Tamara

Saudi fintech Tamara eyes expansion into new products following $110m funding

Tamara, which claims to be Saudi Arabia’s fastest-growing BNPL provider, allows consumers new ways to pay online

Checkout.com leads $110m round for Saudi fintech Tamara

The company raised $6m in seed funding at the start of this year

How banks can leverage technology to explore the digital economy

JMR Infotech’s innovation adds value to the digital transformation journey of banks and financial institutions in the Middle East and Africa region

Women’s Voice: Discussing the Covid-19 impact on gender equality

Covid-19 has disproportionately impacted jobs held by women workers

UAE’s first independent digital banking platform launched

Over 25,000 applicants pre-registered in the past two months to use the app