International Data Corporation (IDC) is delighted to announce that His Excellency Wesam Lootah, CEO of Smart Dubai Government Establishment and founding member of IDC’s CIO Advisory Council for the Gulf region, will deliver an honorary keynote address at the upcoming IDC Middle East CIO Summit 2019. Taking place on February 27-28th at The Ritz-Carlton, Dubai International Financial Centre, the event will host more than 200 of the region’s most influential ICT leaders as they gather to discuss strategies for succeeding in an era of multiplied innovation and automation. Combining a varied mix of informative presentations, panel discussions, and workshops, the…

The Middle East, Turkey, and Africa (META) region will see annual spending on digital transformation (DX) initiatives cross the $20 billion mark by the end of this year, according to the latest insights from International Data Corporation. The global technology research and advisory services firm expects this figure to more than double over the coming years, passing $40 billion by 2022 as the pursuit of game-changing innovation accelerates to keep pace with evolving customer demands. “As digital transformation continues to reshape the global economy, innovation will multiply, platform wars will intensify, and data will increasingly be used for competitive advantage,”…

With the goal of empowering banks in the MENA region to lead the world in digital banking services, Almoayed Technologies, the Kingdom’s first officially confirmed Open Banking AISP/PISP, announced a strategic partnership with Moven Enterprise, the turnkey smart-banking technology platform founded by financial services renown futurist and author, Brett King. Under the terms of the partnership Almoayed Technologies will make Moven’s innovative smart-banking technology available to banks across the MENA region, empowering them to launch next-generation digital banking services that reduce customer attrition rates, drive new revenue streams and lower customer acquisition costs. “With Open Banking already mandated by the…

The unique environment for financial services in Africa is fertile ground for innovative FinTech players who are not only disrupting but also building it from the scratch which is bringing Financial inclusions and attracting other investments across the continent. New technological advancements are the real game-changers for the banking and finance industry, especially in FinTech Start-ups. FinTech players and the incumbent banks have the potential to accelerate the digital transformation of financial services in Africa and to make financial services more efficient and accessible to under-served markets across the continent. FinTech players are playing a major role in shaping up…

As part of its blockchain pilot program, Saudi Customs, with its IT partner, Tabadul, oversaw the integration of FASAH with TradeLens, a blockchain-enabled global shipping solution jointly developed by Maersk and IBM. FASAH is Saudi Arabia’s national platform which connects all government and private entities involved in cross border trade.‬ Saudi Customs is the governmental authority responsible for facilitating the safe and efficient import and export of trade goods and associated services via land, sea and air. The pilot aimed to link FASAH with TradeLens for selected services to ensure immutability, traceability, reduced reconciliation, auditability, and compliance. “The pilot comes…

National Bank of Kuwait (NBK) continues to offer the latest technological solutions in the sector of money transfers and has become the first financial institution in the country to launch the “NBK Direct Remit” for cross-border live payments which uses RippleNet’s enterprise blockchain technology solution to provide customers with a frictionless remittance experience and fast cross-border money transfer solutions. The “NBK Direct Remit” is a fast remittance service available online 24/7 for all customers. NBK aims to continue launching innovative solutions for the growing needs of customers by adopting RippleNet’s network globally. Commenting on the new milestone, Mr. Dimitrios Kokosioulis,…

PayFort, an Amazon company, has announced that merchants using its online payment gateway will now be able to accept payments from Egypt’s new national card, ‘meeza’, following the announcement of the Central Bank of Egypt (CBE) for the national payment scheme. The meeza card is a key financial inclusion initiative from the Egyptian government, as it pushes towards a cashless society, preparing the way for further growth in online payments. The card will allow citizens to receive and make payments electronically and pay their bills via ATMs and at government departments. Debit cards are often not enabled for ecommerce use…

Following the strategic growth of FundedByMe, aiming at becoming the most global crowdfunding platform, the platform announced today the final steps to launch its operations in Dubai for the UAE and the MENA region. An in-principle license has been granted conditional to completing the setup of the local entity. Operations will commence early in 2019. FundedByMe, founded in Sweden in 2011, claims to be the fastest growing crowdfunding platform in Scandinavia with offices in Sweden, Finland, Poland, The Netherlands, Singapore and Malaysia. Now entering Dubai as the region’s first equity crowdfunding platform, fully incorporated at the DIFC and fully regulated by…

The past year has been extremely eventful in terms of the digital threats faced by financial institutions: cybercrime groups have used new infiltration techniques, and the geography of attacks has become more extensive. According to the KSN statistics by Kaspersky Lab, the Middle East, Turkey and Africa (META) region witnessed a 17% increase in banking malware attack to reach almost half a million attacks in 2018.  Cryptocurrencies have also become an established part of many people’s lives, and a more attractive target for cybercriminals across the world, which resulted in a rapid increase in malicious mining of cryptocurrencies. Kaspersky Lab…

VeChain, a public blockchain platform focusing on enterprise adoption and BIOS Middle East, an UAE’s Managed Cloud Provider have signed a MoU to co-market and implement a framework of blockchain-as-a-service and blockchain-enabled cloud services. VeChain’s wide range of blockchain solutions for enterprises comprising of the Internet of Things (IoT) are ripe for major cloud service providers like BIOS Middle East to provide a variety of Blockchain-as-a-Service (BaaS) offerings to existing clientele across Energy, Finance, Retail, PetroChem and Healthcare industries in the Middle East. BIOS Middle East and VeChain recognize that in order for large scale blockchain revolution to happen, companies…

The Central Bank of Bahrain (CBB) has issued for consultation, the draft rules on Crypto-asset Platform Operators (CPO) which provides a regulatory framework for the licensing and supervision of crypto-asset services including those provided by a platform operator as a principal, agent and as a custodian, within or from the Kingdom of Bahrain. Realizing the growing demand for this type of market globally and regionally, the CBB is introducing a comprehensive framework, which is risk-based to regulate this area of financial services. The new regulatory framework covers the requirements for licensing, financial resources, and measures to safeguard client or customer interests,…

The Central Bank of Bahrain (CBB) announced that Tarabut Gateway, a subsidiary of Almoayed Technologies is the first company to successfully complete the Regulatory Sandbox stage and to receive the CBB’s in-principle confirmation under the Open Banking regulatory framework. The announcement was made at a ceremony held at the Bahrain Fintech Bay to mark this occasion, in the presence of CBB, Bahrain Economic Development Board (EDB) and Bahrain Fintech Bay officials and Mr. Abdulla Almoayed, CEO of Almoayed Technologies. H.E. Rasheed Mohammed Al Maraj, Governor of the CBB, said, “We are very delighted to announce the first company to successfully…

Abu Dhabi Global Market Courts presented their fully digital, bespoke courtroom at an exclusive launch event held in the ADGM Building on Al Maryah Island. The digital courtroom, first of its kind globally, is a testament to ADGM Courts’ commitment to delivering an innovative and world-class dispute resolution jurisdiction that responds to the dynamic needs of businesses and investors and defines the quality and delivery of judicial services for the future. The launch event was well-attended by state leader, H.E Sultan Bin Saeed Al Badi, Minister of Justice (Abu Dhabi), senior leaders from the Abu Dhabi Government and industry dignitaries.…

Abu Dhabi Global Markets announces the successful conclusion of the first phase of the industry electronic-Know-Your-Customer (e-KYC) utility project. The Financial Services Regulatory Authority (FSRA) of ADGM, in collaboration with its project advisor, KPMG, have published a high-level summary of the project scope and the key insights for the benefit of the financial industry. The e-KYC project, launched in March 2018, was an FSRA-led collaboration with a consortium of the UAE’s major financial institutions including Abu Dhabi Commercial Bank, Abu Dhabi Islamic Bank, Al Ansari Exchange, Al Fardan Exchange, First Abu Dhabi Bank, and UAE Exchange. The objective was to…

The Second UAE Government Annual Meetings, held in Abu Dhabi, witnessed the launch of two national initiatives aimed at reinforcing the artificial intelligence, AI, and Blockchain sector to strengthen the UAE leading position globally. During the meeting held by the AI and Blockchain Joint Working Group, attendees tackled the appropriate mechanisms to attract foreign investment, encourage entrepreneurship and develop the necessary infrastructure that supports such technologies. The meeting also examined the key challenges facing the adoption of AI and Blockchain technologies, spreading awareness about the positive impact of these technologies to ensure further progress for the UAE as regards the…

The Qatar Financial Centre (QFC) has partnered with B-Hive to develop FinTech Industry in Qatar. A memorandum of understanding (MoU) was signed by Yousuf Mohamed Al-Jaida, Chief Executive Officer, QFC and Wim De Waele, CEO and Managing Partner, B-Hive. The ceremony was also attended by H.E. Dr. Bart De Groof, Ambassador for Belgium to Qatar. The MoU highlights the QFC’s commitment to the national FinTech agenda set by the Qatar Development bank, which aims to attract international FinTech ecosystems to Qatar. B-Hive is a European collaborative innovation FinTech platform based in Belgium that brings together major banks, insurers and market infrastructure…

FinTech Hive at DIFC, the first and largest financial technology accelerator in the Middle East, Africa and South Asia (MEASA) region, marked another milestone in its continued support for financial innovation with the completion of the 2018 edition of its accelerator programme, launched in collaboration with Accenture. The number of start-ups in the programme doubled to 22 from 11 in the 2017 cohort. Along with one additional start-up, selected as the winner of the Accenture Innovation Awards at GITEX Future Stars, they presented cutting-edge solutions to over 350 investors, partners and representatives from government entities. The event was also attended…

Google announced the launch of Google Pay in the UAE, allowing people to pay simply and securely with their Android phones. It simplifies shopping by helping you pay safely in apps and on websites, in stores that support contactless payment, and across all Google properties including Google Play. With the new payment app, Android users (Android 5+ phones) can complete payment processes in a few seconds whether online or offline. In retail, the smartphone becomes a wallet. To be ready to use this payment method in stores, users simply add their supported Mastercard or Visa cards issued by any of the partner banks (Emirates Islamic, Emirates NBD, Mashreq…

Smart Dubai and IBM  announced the launch of the Dubai Blockchain Platform, the first government-endorsed blockchain platform-as-a-service in the United Arab Emirates (UAE). Delivered through an IBM Cloud environment and built locally in the UAE, the enterprise-ready platform will serve as a stepping stone for organizations in the UAE and globally to transition their blockchain testing and development into full-production. It will also transform and digitize applicable government processes and citizen services. Dubai has been leading efforts to encourage the use of blockchain, with a vision to make the emirate a paperless government by 2021. As part of the Dubai Blockchain Strategy,…

The Venture lab at The American University in Cairo, and university-based startup accelerator in Africa and the MENA region, Temenos, banking software company, and CIB, Egypt’s largest private sector bank, have come together to announce a collaboration to strengthen the fintech ecosystem in Cairo. Building on their individual partnerships, the three organizations welcome the joint venture which will include activities such as creating awareness of opportunities surrounding Fintech in Egypt, encouraging entrepreneurs to start new Fintech enterprises, and supporting Fintech startups as they develop, pilot and launch their products and services. This alliance was cemented at a joint “Meet the…