Mashreq Ban has completed the transition of its existing payments business into a new, wholly owned subsidiary, IDFAA Payment Services LLC, with a brand name NEOPAY, powered by Mashreq. NEOPAY, powered by Mashreq Bank, will leverage the latest technology and innovation, including card processing and merchant acquiring systems, processing switches and PoS inventory to offer a seamless payments experience to merchants and consumers. It builds on the successes of Mashreq’s existing merchant acquiring business, which processes USD22 billion of annual volume across the retail, government, hospitality and eCommerce sectors. NEOPAY will consolidate all existing payment systems into a single platform.…

Egypt’s largest national banks – Banque Misr, National Bank of Egypt, and Banque du Caire – and Global Ventures, a leading MEA-focused venture capital firm – announce the launch of Nclude by Global Ventures, following approval by the Central Bank of Egypt (CBE). This bold and unprecedented step is an implementation of the country’s strategic vision to support young innovators who will build the Egyptian Economy of the future, Nclude by Global Ventures will focus on accelerating Fintech Innovation and driving Financial Inclusion. The initial amount equivalent to $85 million investment in the Fund is led by Banque Misr as…

Lucky, Egypt’s leading app for credit products, offers and cashback rewards, announces its completion of a $25 million fund raise. The funding round, which claims to be Egypt’s largest Fintech Series A round so far, was led by Nclude by Global Ventures – the new Fintech fund recently announced by its lead investors Banque Misr, National Bank of Egypt and Banque du Caire – Egypt’s largest national banks – and Global Ventures, a leading MEA focused venture capital firm. Major investment also came from PayU, the Prosus-owned Fintech firm specialising in emerging markets; Endeavor Catalyst, Venture Souq, Oman Technology Fund,…

US Software intelligence company Dynatrace announced the opening of its new office in the United Arab Emirates. The move is part of its strategy to expand its presence across the Middle East as it drives to meet regional demand for software intelligence and help the region’s largest leading organizations accelerate digital transformation. Dynatrace combines deep and broad observability, runtime application security, and advanced AIOps to deliver answers and intelligent automation from data. This empowers teams to modernize and automate cloud operations, release better and more secure software faster, and deliver unrivaled digital experiences. The company’s entry in the UAE market…

There is a smart, powerful phrase that underlines the importance of visibility and role models in life: “If you can see it, you can be it.” And it has stronger resonance than most motivational slogans you might see printed on a coffee cup, as it speaks to the power of those who blaze a trail and shine a light for the next generation. To celebrate International Women’s Day 2022, CR2 talked to four women who are leaders, mentors and champions for gender equality and opportunity in the banking, Fintech and the wider financial services sectors, about their own journeys, the…

Mosul Bank has selected CR2, one of the world’s leading software vendors in the digital banking and payments market, to accelerate its digital banking transformation strategy in the Iraqi market. This latest win for CR2 will see Mosul Bank offering a more advanced digital banking service to the Iraqi retail and corporate banking market, across both mobile and internet access points. New and existing customers can expect to enjoy a more enhanced digital experience with an engaging UX, digital onboarding, easy payments and an array of banking and personal support services that meets the demands of today’s digital customer. Built…

Al Fardan Exchange, one of the largest money transfer and currency exchange firms in the United Arab Emirates (UAE), announced today a partnership with Thunes, a cross-border payments, enabling Al Fardan Exchange customers to make seamless payments to 87 countries. Through this partnership, Al Fardan Exchange’s business and retail customers can make instant payments directly not just to bank accounts, but also mobile wallets and cash pickup points in their home countries, enabling recipients to receive money in their local currency. Aside from speed and convenience, businesses and individuals will benefit from enhanced transparency of the service, they will know…

Dubai International Financial Centre (DIFC) announced the launch of a ground-breaking Artificial Intelligence (AI) and coding license, in cooperation with the UAE Artificial Intelligence Office. The license, which is a UAE first, will advance the country’s Artificial Intelligence Strategy 2031, which aims to enhance the UAE’s reputation in this field by attracting AI companies and coders from around the world. Companies holding the license will be able to work within a stimulating environment at the DIFC Innovation Hub, which is the largest cluster of FinTech and innovation companies in the region. The Hub hosts more than 500 firms, ranging from…

Alaan, a UAE based corporate spend-management fintech, announced it is coming out of stealth mode with an imminent launch after raising $2.5M in seed funding. The startup is the Middle East’s first multi-currency spend management platform enabling SMEs to spend through corporate cards and automated invoice payments. The seed round was led by 468 Capital, Global Founders Capital and Presight Capital with participation from a number of angel investors including Mato Peric, Erik Podzuweit and Florian Prucker, founders of Scalable Capital as well as Philippe Teixeira da Mota, founder of Hedosophia. Founded in 2021 by ex-McKinsey employees, Parthi Duraisamy and…

Mashreq has taken a stake in NymCard, the only Banking-as-a-Service provider in the Middle East, to help grow the booming FinTech ecosystem in the UAE and support the next generation of innovators. This investment is part of a FinTech fund that Mashreq has created to further Mashreq’s ongoing strategy to support the FinTech ecosystem in the UAE, fostering innovation through collaborations, with an aim to deliver a seamless and superior customer experience. It will allow fintechs, large and small, to launch their business propositions that need to have a payment card functionality through NymCard’s modern open APIs. The terms for…

ADQ, an Abu Dhabi-based investment and holding company announced the Central Bank of the UAE has granted an in-principle approval to launch a new digital banking platform, which will be called Wio. With its headquarters in Abu Dhabi, Wio will enhance the capital’s growing reputation as a global financial services center at the leading edge of digital banking. Led by globally experienced FinTech experts, banking professionals and technology specialists, Wio will offer customers in the UAE a fully digital banking choice with tailored products and services to meet their lifestyles and needs. Wio will soon launch a Beta version that…

Thndr, the Egyptian digital investment platform, announced a new $20 million series A investment. The round was co-led by Tiger Global, BECO Capital and Prosus Ventures, in addition to participation from Base Capital, first-minute and existing investors Endure Capital, 4DX Ventures, Raba Partnerships and JIMCO. The new funding will go towards product development and expanding Thndr’s presence across MENA. Thndr has grown assets under custody rapidly – 29x during 2021 – and monthly traded values up are by similar levels. Thndr also accounted for 36% of all new registrations in the local Egyptian exchanges during 2021. Launched in late 2020…

The recent agreement signed between Spendwisor Inc. and Gem Global Yield LLC SCS (GEM) to increase the existing facility size from QAR 190 million ($50m USD+) to QAR 310 million (USD 85m) is a testament to the positive progress Spendwisor has shown since the original agreement was signed in July 2021. Spendwisor, a mobile payment, and customer-centric marketing platform is helping the State of Qatar develop the FinTech sector through bringing in FDI ($85 million from the US), creating job opportunities for both the local and global workforce, and supporting the local SMEs by bringing them into the mainstream financial…

Wa’ed, the entrepreneurship arm of Saudi Aramco, has collaborated with Fintech Saudi as a strategic partner, along with regional seed and early-stage venture capital firm Flat6Labs, to launch a 12-week Fintech Accelerator to expedite the growth and development of promising Saudi fintech companies. The hybrid event, which commences towards the end of February, will take place in Riyadh and virtually, and will host a cohort of 12 qualified startups for a series of workshops and training seminars. The program will include a Regulation Track and a Business Track running simultaneously. Each submission will undergo a vigorous assessment before being selected…

Riyad-based social trading platform Dawul announced last week it has raised $5 million in a seed round led by RAED Ventures with participation from Impact46, Seedra Ventures, Derayah Venture and Sukna Ventures. The deal, which places Dawul on the global trading map, is considered one of the largest seed funding rounds for a fintech company in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. Dawul platform is the leading platform specialized in social trading. Established in 2020, it acquired a permit from the Saudi Capital Market Authority to conduct financial technology experiments by the end of the same year, and was officially launched…

GoDaddy is working in partnership with MyFatoorah in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region, to offer new payment solutions to GoDaddy’s ecommerce solution. MyFatoorah, a local UAE payments provider, specializes in secure, swift payment solutions across the GCC Region. The new addition to the GoDaddy E-store offering in the Region, allows customers to sell online and accept, track and process payments easily. By linking their e-commerce websites and platforms, merchants can conduct online sales, refunds and other transactions. Selina Bieber, General Manager, MENA, GoDaddy said, “We are excited to partner with MyFatoorah and integrate GoDaddy’s E-store, to offer…

As part of the Central Bank of Bahrain’s (CBB) vision to improve customer experience for safe and efficient settlement solutions, the CBB has announced the successful completion of a test with Onyx by J.P. Morgan’s JPM Coin System. This is a first of its kind test of JPM Coin System in the region. The test enabled Bank ABC to initiate real-time payments for Aluminium Bahrain (ALBA) to benefit ALBA’s counterparties in the United States, leveraging JPM Coin System, a permissioned system that serves as a payment rail and deposit account ledger, enabling participating entities to transfer US Dollars held on…

We sat down with Mr. Ahmad Alsharqatli, CEO of AYM, to find out more about this revolutionary smart Bitcoin solution that is disrupting the way wealth is created. What is AYM? At AYM we develop next generation crypto-asset trading and investing solutions. Our range of software bridges the divide between traditional finance, crypto-assets and blockchain enabled applications. Can you tell us more about AYMBot®? AYMBot® is a fully automated Bitcoin (BTC) trading bot.BTC is the best performing asset in the history of mankind, but, there are problems; it trades 24/7/365 and its extremely volatile, which means 90% of traders find…

Hala (previously Halalah) one of the first fintech startups to obtain the full SAMA license, secures $6.5 Million (24.3 Million SAR) Series A round. The round included the participation of Impact46 Growth fund, Wamda & strategic investors. With the recent introduction of the platform’s new brand name, Hala is redefining its strategy aiming to cover new means of financial service as well as to expand its offering regionally. Since 2018, Hala has built a strong infrastructure in the fintech industry offering a complete payment and wallet solution for both individuals and merchants. Catering to the new financial opportunity in Saudi,…

The Free Zone and Government of Dubai Authority on commodities trade and enterprise – has entered into a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with the Securities and Commodities Authority (SCA) to establish a regulatory framework for businesses offering, issuing, listing, and trading crypto assets in DMCC. The agreement will see businesses dealing with crypto assets gain access to bespoke licences offered by the DMCC Crypto Centre, first-class customer service, a range of incentives, and the strong business regulatory framework developed by DMCC. Working closely with DMCC’s onboarding teams, the SCA will issue approvals for crypto-related businesses looking to set up in DMCC.…