NEOPAY and Deem Finance have partnered to give small and medium-sized UAE businesses easier access to working capital. The deal joins NEOPAY’s embedded lending platform with Deem Finance’s regulated credit licence. It uses merchants’ payment and point-of-sale data to create financing offers. Deem Finance is licensed and regulated by the Central Bank of the UAE. This lets eligible NEOPAY merchants get pre-qualified funding offers through the NEOPAY platform. There is no separate loan application. NEOPAY checks merchants’ payment history to pre-qualify them for credit. Deem Finance then reviews and approves the applications. Funds are then paid out digitally. “This collaboration…

The Hong Kong Monetary Authority (HKMA), Hong Kong Exchanges and Clearing Limited (HKEX), the Dubai Financial Services Authority (DFSA), and Nasdaq Dubai jointly announced the establishment of a Strategic Working Group. The Strategic Working Group aims to strengthen the ties between the financial markets of Hong Kong and the Dubai International Financial Centre (DIFC). The Strategic Working Group brings together exchanges and regulators in Hong Kong and DIFC to explore opportunities and develop collaborative initiatives, including sustainable finance, Islamic finance, as well as broader capital markets development. The announcement was made during the HKMA-DFSA Joint Climate Finance Conference in Hong…

talabat has launched Open Door, a startup enablement programme. It links early-stage companies with business challenges across its regional operations. The initiative lets startups test solutions in a live commercial setting. Successful pilots can grow into longer-term partnerships. The programme runs across talabat’s eight MENA markets. The next cohort begins in the UAE this month. Rollouts in Oman and Bahrain will follow later in 2026. talabat has signed a memorandum of understanding with QuikBot under the programme. The Singapore-headquartered company builds autonomous delivery robots for high-rise buildings. The pilot is set to run at Dubai Digital Park in Dubai Silicon…

baraka has launched UAE stocks trading for eligible customers. The DIFC-based, DFSA-regulated platform now offers companies listed on the Dubai Financial Market (DFM) and Abu Dhabi Securities Exchange (ADX). Local investments are funded in AED. Customers from more than 100 nationalities can now access UAE-listed companies through the same account they already use for US stocks. The addition sits alongside baraka’s existing offering of UAE and US securities, options trading, Sharia-compliant investments and precious metals. The platform now lists nearly 10,000 assets in total. Stocks drawing interest from baraka customers include Emaar Properties, ADNOC Gas and Abu Dhabi Islamic Bank,…

Rakbank has partnered with RAK Properties to launch an off-plan home financing option for buyers in Ras Al Khaimah. The arrangement lets eligible customers access financing at different stages of a purchase, from an initial payment through to handover. The financing applies mainly to off-plan units. Buyers make a low initial payment to access structured instalments through construction, subject to eligibility and terms and conditions. The offering covers select developments, including Skai, Quattro Del Mar, Solera, NURA, Anantara Residences, Anantara Villas, ENTA, Lunara on The Strand, Mirasol 1, Mirasol 2, Beach Villas and Edge. “By partnering with Rakbank on this…

Network International has launched an in-store pilot in the UAE for payments using an AED-backed stablecoin. The pilot runs through Network’s partnership with DDSC. Customers with supported wallets can pay at Network’s existing point-of-sale terminals at Marks & Spencer in Dubai Festival City and LuLu Hypermarket in Abu Dhabi. DDSC is a dirham-backed stablecoin licensed by the UAE central bank under the Payment Token Services Regulation. Paying with DDSC follows the QR-based flow familiar to UAE shoppers. The terminal displays a QR code, which the customer scans using a supported wallet. The merchant then receives confirmation through Network’s existing infrastructure.…

dLocal, a Uruguayan payments platform, has received an Enhanced Payment Service Provider (EPSP) licence from the Bank of Ghana for its local subsidiary, dLocal Ghana Limited. The licence allows the payments platform to process transactions directly in the country. It connects to mobile money networks and bank accounts without routing through local intermediaries. dLocal previously handled Ghana-related payment flows through its global platform and regulated third-party partners. Under the new licence, the company can directly manage local payment collections and merchant acquisition. It can also handle mobile money acceptance, bank transfer collections and payouts through bank accounts and mobile money wallets.…

Rakbank has unveiled a new brand identity across its UAE business. The rebrand is themed “Digital with a Human Touch.” It pairs a modernised logo and app experience with a renewed focus on human relationships. At the same time, the lender is leaning further into AI. Rakbank was founded in Ras Al Khaimah 50 years ago as a community bank. It has since built a wholesale banking franchise. The bank has expanded its wealth proposition through Elite Wealth Centres in Dubai, Ras Al Khaimah and Abu Dhabi. The bank now supports more than 250,000 businesses across the UAE. “Our brand…

TerraPay has partnered with Alipay+ to enable cross-border QR payments for digital wallet users across Latin America, the Middle East, and Africa. The strategic partnership links TerraPay’s wallet interoperability network, Xend, to Ant International’s unified wallet gateway, expanding TerraPay’s coverage from account-to-account transfers to global in-store merchant acceptance. In the initial rollout phase, 15 digital wallets in Africa connected to the Xend network will gain acceptance across Alipay+’s merchant base of over 150 million businesses globally. The integration allows travellers to make international in-store purchases using their domestic mobile wallet apps by scanning QR codes at participating checkout counters. By…

Abu Dhabi Global Market (ADGM) recorded a 54% year-on-year rise in assets under management in the first half of 2026. Active licences across the centre climbed to almost 14,000. The number of fund and asset managers based in ADGM rose 23% to 190, while funds managed from the centre grew 32% to 276. Asset managers that set up in ADGM during the period collectively oversee more than US$2.1 trillion in global assets, the centre said. Financial services entities operating in ADGM grew 27% to 392, with the Financial Services Regulatory Authority issuing 50 in-principle approvals and 45 financial services permissions.…

DIFC has confirmed the programme for its first Dubai Future Finance Week, set for 2 to 6 November 2026. The event will host more than 850 speakers across 85-plus sessions, with the Dubai Fintech Summit as the anchor. The week falls under the patronage of Sheikh Maktoum bin Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, the UAE’s Deputy Prime Minister, Minister of Finance and President of DIFC. It supports the Dubai Economic Agenda D33, which aims to place the emirate among the world’s top four financial centres. “The global financial ecosystem is undergoing a structural evolution,” said Essa Kazim, Governor of DIFC.…

Fortis Digital Solutions has partnered with Paymob to install its SmartPOS software directly on Paymob’s payment terminals. The integration turns those terminals into a complete point-of-sale system. SmartPOS adds order taking, customer profiles, loyalty programmes and daily sales tracking to the same terminal merchants already use for card and cash acceptance, shift management and reporting. Merchants can also draw on Fortis’ cloud platform for real-time visibility into sales, orders and inventory across the business. New Paymob customers can activate SmartPOS during onboarding. Existing merchants can have it installed remotely by the Fortis team, without any hardware swap. “Many SMEs recognise…

BlackRock has appointed Dixit Joshi as Managing Director for Middle East Technology and Advisory Solutions, and Digital Assets. He joins from Credit Suisse, where he was CFO through its combination with UBS, and will be based in Dubai. In the role, Joshi will grow BlackRock’s Middle East platform across capital markets and technology, including Aladdin, and advance its digital assets strategy across the region and Asia Pacific. He will also work with regional teams to deepen client relationships. Joshi brings more than three decades in finance, risk, treasury, trading and capital markets. He previously held senior roles at Deutsche Bank,…

NymCard has received in-principle approval from the Central Bank of the UAE (CBUAE) for a Stored Value Facility (SVF) licence. It marks the third time NymCard has gone through the CBUAE’s licensing process, following its already-granted Retail Payment Services and Card Schemes (RPSCS) Category II licence and Open Finance licence. NymCard has grown its regulatory footprint in the UAE alongside the business, building out the governance, risk, compliance and operational frameworks the central bank requires. The SVF approval is the latest step in that process. “This milestone reflects the trust we’ve built with the Central Bank of the UAE and…

Juspay has expanded its partnership with Wego, the largest online travel marketplace in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA), to support Wego’s continued growth across the region. As Wego enters new markets, Juspay is helping it integrate local payment service providers, acquirers, banks and local payment methods more quickly. The aim is to let travellers check out using payment options they already know. Payment preferences vary significantly between markets, from cards to digital wallets and other locally preferred methods. Through the partnership, Wego can bring new payment partners on board more efficiently. The company can aslo expand the payment…

Saudi Arabia-based PayTabs Group has agreed to acquire Amazon Payment Services’ operations in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) in a deal valued at more than US$100 million, as covered by IBS Intelligence. Both parties have approved the transaction, which will see Amazon Payment Services’ MENA operations integrated into PayTabs’ platform, expanding the company’s scale, processing capabilities and market presence across the region. The deal would cement PayTabs’ position as the largest MENA payments infrastructure provider, with proprietary end-to-end solutions spanning payment processing, automated switching and payouts on a single platform, according to Zawya. PayTabs has spent years building…

Saudi fintech Nayla has raised nearly US$18 million in combined equity and debt financing in its Pre-Series A round, announced at LEAP 2026 in Riyadh. Idrisi Ventures led the equity portion, with participation from Suhail Ventures and other strategic investors, while Blominvest led a separate debt facility. The Saudi Central Bank (SAMA) licenses Nayla to provide digital financing to the Kingdom’s micro businesses. Founded in 2024 by Shaqran Alyahya, Co-Founder and CEO, and Khalid Naili, Co-Founder and Chief Risk Officer, the company began operations in 2025 and uses a proprietary credit engine built on alternative data to assess financing needs…

Dubai Land Department (DLD) is developing a Rent Now, Pay Later scheme that would let eligible tenants repay their annual rent in monthly instalments through a participating bank, according to Gulf News, citing a report by Emarat Al Youm. The scheme remains a proposal, and DLD has not yet named the participating bank or confirmed a launch date. Under the proposed mechanism, a tenant selects a residential property, and the participating bank pays the landlord the full annual rent upfront. The tenant then repays the bank in instalments spread over up to 12 months, at zero interest, rather than paying…

FairMoney Microfinance Bank has surpassed 30 million registered users in Nigeria. The company says the milestone reflects growing use of its mobile platform for everyday financial needs, from borrowing and saving to transfers, bill payments, cards and asset financing. Through the FairMoney app, customers can open and manage an account, save money, pay bills, make transfers, use cards, access credit where eligible and finance assets. The company says bringing these services onto one platform is intended to extend formal financial access to individuals and businesses that face barriers such as extensive paperwork, limited access to physical bank branches or a…

Dubai’s Virtual Assets Regulatory Authority (VARA) and Securitize Corp. (NYSE: SECZ) have signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) establishing a framework for collaboration to support tokenisation and digital asset infrastructure across the Emirate of Dubai. The MoU is a broad cooperation framework rather than the announcement of a specific tokenised product or technology stack, a VARA spokesperson told Cointelegraph. The spokesperson said no concrete projects will be announced at this stage, and that the intention is to combine VARA’s regulatory perspective with Securitize’s experience in institutional tokenisation to identify where collaboration can support the development of trusted, regulated tokenised markets…