The United Arab Emirates (UAE) has established itself as a leading fintech hub in the Middle East, driven by a strategic push to diversify its economy away from oil dependence and a regulatory environment that actively encourages innovation.
The government’s “We the UAE 2031” strategy prioritizes growth in knowledge-based industries like technology, logistics, and tourism to lower reliance on hydrocarbon exports. Simultaneously, autonomous financial free zones such as the Dubai International Financial Centre (DIFC) and the Abu Dhabi Global Market (ADGM) operate under independent legal systems, providing regulatory sandboxes for fintech and crypto startups.
Saudi Arabia is rapidly catching up, leveraging its massive domestic market and the transformative vision of Vision 2030 to accelerate its fintech adoption. Vision 2030 is Saudi Arabia’s comprehensive strategic framework launched to reduce the country’s dependence on oil, diversify its economy, and develop public service sectors. It directly fuels the fintech sector by mandating the digitization of government services, promoting financial inclusion through digital banking, and launching regulatory initiatives to accelerate fintech innovation.
These burgeoning fintech markets are witnessing a rise in domestic fintech events, enabling industry stakeholders to exchange insights, connect, and explore the latest innovations happening in the space.
Among the events scheduled for the remainder of 2026, the following 11 are standing as the most significant gatherings. These event are expected to bring together top decision-makers and innovators to shape the future of the sector, foster cross-border collaboration, and advance the region’s digital transformation.
Top 11 Upcoming Fintech Events in the UAE and Saudi Arabia in H2 2026
LEAP 2026
August 31-September 03, 2026
Riyadh Front Exhibition and Conference Center (RECC), Malham, Saudi Arabia
LEAP 2026 will take place from August 31 to September 03 at the Riyadh Front Exhibition and Conference Center (RECC) in Malham, bringing together technology companies, founders, investors, policymakers, and industry leaders to explore emerging technologies, drive investment, and enable cross-sector collaboration.
This year’s event will explore the technologies shaping the future, ranging from artificial intelligence (AI) and cloud computing to deep tech, gaming, and digital infrastructure. It will feature a multi-stage conference program alongside a large-scale exhibition.
Content will focus on how technology is built, funded, and deployed in real-world environments, featuring participation from enterprise leaders, founders, investors, policymakers, and technical experts. Key areas of focus include AI, cloud and data infrastructure, cybersecurity, fintech, health technology, smart cities, climate and energy technologies, space, gaming, sports technology, and digital commerce.
Startups and scaleups will also be integrated into the core program, with the Rocket Fuel Pitch Competition offering equity-free funding and live pitching opportunities.
LEAP is one of the world’s largest technology events. Since its launch in 2022, it has grown to attract more than 200,000 attendees by 2025.
AIM Congress 2026
September 07-09, 2026
Dubai World Trade Centre, Dubai, UAE
AIM Congress 2026, scheduled from September 07 to 09, at the Dubai World Trade Centre, promises a premier event dedicated to steering sustainable investment trends. This year’s event will address strategies to navigate major economic transformations, exploring new horizons for strengthening global partnerships and enabling innovative solutions to address pressing global economic challenges.
Themed “Reshaping Global Prosperity: Unlocking New Investment Pathways Towards a Sustainable and Inclusive Future”, AIM Congress 2026 will highlight investment trends, the digital economy, green finance, and public-private partnerships. The event will emphasize the critical importance of integrating innovation, sustainability, and inclusivity to build resilient, adaptable economies capable of sustained growth.
AIM Congress 2026 will feature high-level plenary sessions, thematic forums, side events, and strategic networking opportunities. Structured around three main pillars, namely Global Markets, Future Economies, and NextGen, the event will spotlight key sectors including agriculture, energy, infrastructure, ICT, trade, and education. It will also include the AIM Investment Awards, an international exhibition, innovation competitions, and country investment presentations.
Seamless Fintech Middle East 2026
September 22-24, 2026
Dubai World Trade Centre, Dubai, UAE
Seamless Fintech Middle East 2026, taking place from September 22 to 24, at the Dubai World Trade Centre, will bring together bigtech firms, governments, banks, financial institutions, fintech startups, investors, and media. The three-day event aims to serve as a dynamic platform for collaboration, knowledge exchange, and business growth.
Tailored for anyone passionate about the Middle East’s rapidly evolving fintech ecosystem, Seamless Fintech Middle East 2026 will allow attendees to explore the sector, engage with top industry players and innovators, and discover cutting-edge solutions. The event will feature six conference tracks:
- Digital Commerce Arena: age of AI, marketplace mastery, augmented data;
- Marketing Summit 2.0: influencer marketing, AI in advertising, TikTok;
- Payments Podium: embedded payments, merchant mania, superapps and Wallet 3.0;
- Shop Arabia: modern fit-out store, smart store, tech-powered visual merchandise;
- Commerce University: AI, open finance, growth; and
- Home Delivery: product delivery, fulfillment, logistics, digital supply chain.
AI Everything Abu Dhabi 2026
October 05-07, 2026
ADNEC Centre Abu Dhabi, Abu Dhabi, UAE
AI Everything Abu Dhabi 2026 will take place from October 05 to 07, at the ADNEC Centre Abu Dhabi. The event aims to reaffirm the UAE’s commitment to establishing itself as a premier global hub for AI excellence and innovation, featuring leading AI enterprises, innovators, investors, and policymakers from around the world, and offering a platform for advancing practical AI solutions across industries.
AI Everything Abu Dhabi 2026 is expected to stage the biggest AI breakthroughs, convening the global AI ecosystem in the UAE for an action-packed three-day agenda. The event will welcome over 850 global AI enterprises and startups from more than 150 countries, alongside the world’s most influential Chief AI Officers (CAIOs), investors, speakers and commercial AI developers.
CFO Leadership Summit – Saudi Arabia 2026
October 07, 2026
Riyadh Marriott Hotel, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia
The CFO Leadership Summit – Saudi Arabia 2026 will take place on October 07 at the Riyadh Marriott Hotel, providing a strategic platform for finance leaders to confront these challenges and uncover new growth opportunities. The event is expected to bring together more than 200 senior finance executives to spotlight emerging tech trends and industry disruption through presentations, panels, real-world case studies, and high-impact networking.
Attendees will gain practical insights to enhance financial strategy, boost performance, and shape a future-ready finance organization. Featured discussions will cover:
- Architecting financial agility in a hyper-accelerated market landscape;
- CFOs and AI: are we training our own replacements?;
- Risk intelligence: designing resilient financial ecosystems for complex threat landscapes;
- M&A: Redefining deal value in a data-driven finance function;
- Precision finance: merging forecasting, value strategy, and intelligent decision-making; and
- Digital control towers: streamlining tax, spend, and compliance in the enterprise core.
BFSI IT Summit – Saudi Arabia 2026
October 14, 2026
Riyadh Marriott Hotel, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia
Marking its 37th edition, the BFSI IT Summit – Saudi Arabia 2026 will take place on October 14, at the Riyadh Marriott Hotel. This year’s event is expected to unit 200 of Saudi Arabia’s most influential technology and innovation leaders from banking, financial services, and fintech, to discuss how technology is redefining the future of finance.
The BFSI IT Summit – Saudi Arabia 2026 will run under the theme “Where Technology Meets the Future of Banking”, serving as a high-impact platform for CTOs, CIOs, CISOs, and digital pioneers to explore transformative strategies, emerging tech, and real-world solutions shaping the next era of finance. From digital banking and financial inclusion to change management and data privacy, the agenda will dive into the most urgent topics redefining Saudi Arabia’s financial ecosystem, driving toward a smarter, more secure, and future-ready economy.
Featured discussions will cover:
- Guardrails for growth: compliance strategies in a digital-first world;
- What does it mean to be an AI-first bank?;
- Rewiring the enterprise for intelligent transformation;
- De-risking technology and cybersecurity in banking; and
- The future of banking technology: from transactions to trust, insight, and intelligent innovation.
Global FinEXPO Dubai 2026
October 21-22, 2026
The Ritz Carlton, DIFC Dubai, UAE
Global FinEXPO Dubai 2026 will take place on October 21 and 22, at the Ritz Carlton at DIFC Dubai, promising a premier banking and finance event bringing together a diverse array of industry leaders and innovators. The event will showcase a broad spectrum of banks, mutual funds, insurance, real estate, wealth management, cutting-edge fintech and digital currency solutions.
Over the course of two days, Global FinEXPO Dubai 2026 will offer insightful expert sessions, panel discussions, and extensive networking opportunities, delivering tangible value to exhibitors, visitors, participants, speakers, students, and media. It will provide a vital platform for investors at all levels, from high-net-worth individuals (HNIs) and Arab expatriates to European expats, and local investors, to discover new investment opportunities and forge meaningful connections.
The event will feature dedicated sessions and exhibition booths, exploring investment trends, innovative technologies, and the evolving landscape of financial services. Exhibitors will showcase solutions across banking, mutual funds, insurance, real estate, wealth management, digital currencies, and financial technologies.
Dubai Future Finance Week 2026
November 02-06, 2026
Dubai, UAE
Dubai Future Finance Week (DFFW) 2026 will take place from November 02 to 06, in Dubai. This year’s edition is expected to convene more than 40,000 global attendees, 1,000 international speakers, and 1,000 sponsors and exhibitors from over 120 countries, across more than ten global events.
Under the theme “Shaping the Next Era of Global Finance”, this year’s edition will explore the forces redefining the global financial landscape, with discussions focusing on technology, capital, sustainability, governance, and the future of interconnected finance.
Dubai Fintech Summit 2026
November 02-03, 2026
Madinat Jumeirah, Dubai, UAE
Dubai Fintech Summit 2026 will take place November 02 and 03, at Madinat Jumeirah in Dubai. Organized by the DIFC as part of DFFW 2026, Dubai Fintech Summit 2026 will bring together world-leading innovators, policymakers, and market pioneers to explore groundbreaking insights, bold ideas, and transformative collaborations to shape the next chapter of the fintech revolution.
Now in its fourth edition, the summit aims to reinforce Dubai’s position as a global financial hub, connecting ideas, markets, and opportunities across continents. With a strong focus on real-world outcomes, it will convene the key players shaping the future of banking, payments, digital assets, and financial inclusion, offering a unique space where strategic conversations meet actionable insights, fostering partnerships that influence the global financial landscape.
Speakers this year will include:
- H.E. Essa Kazim, Governor, DIFC
- Noel Quinn, Chairman of the Board of Directors, Julius Baer Group
- Jenny Johnson, CEO, Franklin Templeton
- Tan Su Shan, CEO & Director, DBS Group
- Kentaro Okuda, President & CEO, Nomura Holdings, Inc
- Ryan Breslow, Founder & CEO, Bolt
- Shri Ashishkumar Chauhan, MD & CEO, National Stock Exchange of India (NSE)
- H.E. Arif Amiri, CEO, DIFC Authority
- Chris Hogbin, CEO, Lazard Asset Management
- Nicolas Moreau, CEO, HSBC Asset Management
- Bjørn Sibbern, CEO, SIX Group
- Martin Kocher, Governor, Austrian Central Bank
- Sundararaman Ramamurthy, MD & CEO, Bombay Stock Exchange (BSE)
- Antoine Chemali, CEO, BNP Paribas Wealth Management Middle East
- Fernando Zandona, CEO, Mambu
Digital Transformation Summit UAE 2026
November 04, 2026
Sofitel, Abu Dhabi, UAE
The Digital Transformation Summit UAE 2026 will take place on November 04, at Sofitel in Abu Dhabi. The summit is expected to bring together more than 200 C-level executives, directors, and heads of technology to discuss the potential of AI, Web 3.0, the Internet-of-Things (IoT), quantum computing, cybersecurity, and other 4IR technologies.
Participants will get to collaborate with industry peers to collectively shape the future, exchange experiences, and connect one-on-one with potential global partners. Attendees will also get to explore the latest innovations in digital solutions, and gain valuable insights from renowned innovation and technology experts, including pioneers and leaders from the region, as they share real-world use cases and practical perspectives.
The Digital Transformation Summit UAE is part of a global series of events which has taken place in more than 10 cities across multiple continents over the past few years, uniting the world’s most influential digital and technology leaders. These events have garnered more than 8,100 digital leaders, 430 sponsors, and 940 speakers spanning industries including finance, banking, government, telecom, healthcare, and manufacturing.
Accounting and Business Expo Saudi Arabian 2026
November 09-10, 2026
Riyadh Front, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia
The Accounting and Business Expo Saudi Arabia 2026 will take place on November 09 and 10, at the Riyadh Front. The event will explore key priorities including e-invoicing, automation, compliance, and data-driven decision-making.
CFOs, accountants, auditors, and business leaders will connect, learn, and discover solutions driving smarter, more efficient finance operations. Participants will get to hear from 150 expert speakers as they challenge the status quo, share practical insights, and explore the future of accounting, finance, and business.
Beyond the conference sessions, the event will offer a comprehensive platform for growth. Participants will get to explore cutting-edge solutions from leading providers to streamline operations, connect directly with industry experts, and engage in curated roundtables. The experience will conclude with dedicated networking lounges and an official party, providing ample opportunity to celebrate success and build lasting professional relationships.
Featured image: Edited by Fintech News UAE, based on images by user13560167 and art studio ideas via Magnific
