Tether is partnering with First Advanced Data for Artificial Intelligence (FirstData) and BKN301 to accelerate the tokenisation of institutional-grade real estate assets in Saudi Arabia. The digital asset company will deploy its Hadron by Tether platform as the core technology infrastructure for issuing, managing, and administering tokenised assets. Riyadh-based FirstData will serve as the commercial lead, issuer, and primary market operator for the tokenised real estate assets. The company combines artificial intelligence with digital asset infrastructure to support the ownership, trading, and management of real-world assets. BKN301 will support the integration of Hadron by Tether into FirstData’s operating framework. It…

Edenred UAE has received in-principle approval from the Central Bank of the UAE (CBUAE) for its application to operate as a licensed Stored Value Facility (SVF) provider. The payroll solutions company currently serves more than 2.5 million employees across the country, many of whom rely on salary cards as their primary method of receiving and accessing wages. The in-principle approval marks an intermediate step in the CBUAE’s licensing process. This stage evaluates an applicant’s governance, compliance, cybersecurity and operational controls. Edenred UAE will now focus on completing the remaining regulatory requirements before receiving a full SVF license. The company has…

Moove has raised US$250 million in a Series C funding round led by Abu Dhabi sovereign investor Mubadala Investment Company. The mobility company, which initially built its business by financing ride-hailing vehicles, is expanding its capital and operations platform to fund and manage autonomous vehicle fleets. The funding round values the company at US$2.1 billion. Woven Capital and Ion Pacific co-led the investment, with participation from new backers BlueCrest Capital Management and Sona Capital. They join existing investors including BlackRock, MUFG, and Franklin Templeton. Moove will direct the funds towards its autonomous vehicle operations. This includes expanding autonomous fleet ownership…

Mastercard and Arab Financial Services (AFS) have introduced a corporate credit and prepaid card offering integrated with the AFS Pro mobile app in the UAE. The solution combines corporate spending management and payment acceptance capabilities into a single platform. This allows businesses to manage outgoing expenses and incoming payments together. Initial rollout will take place in the UAE before expanding to Egypt. Through the app, companies can issue corporate cards, apply spending controls, and monitor transactions in real time. Payment acceptance tools are also available within the platform. These include SoftPOS technology, which enables merchants to accept contactless payments directly…

MoneyHash has integrated its payment orchestration platform with Azm Fintech’s Edaat platform to expand merchant access to Saudi Arabia’s digital payment ecosystem. The partnership enables businesses using MoneyHash to connect to Edaat’s payment gateway and access SADAD KSA alongside local billing and collection capabilities. Through a single integration, merchants can streamline payment acceptance, automate collections, and improve reconciliation processes while operating on infrastructure aligned with Saudi Arabia’s regulatory requirements. The collaboration comes as businesses in Saudi Arabia seek scalable financial technology solutions to simplify payment operations and support growth. By connecting merchants to local payment infrastructure, the integration reduces the…

The UAE Ministry of Finance has integrated the Aani instant payment platform and the Jaywan domestic card scheme into its collection channels for federal service fees and fines. The ministry is the first federal entity to implement the systems, paving the way for other government entities and collection banks to roll out the platforms in line with their approved procedures. Cabinet Resolution No. 176M/4M of 2026 supports the rollout. It establishes the adoption of the two national platforms and their applicable usage fees. The initiative forms part of broader efforts to modernise government revenue collection. It also deepens integration with…

Digital payments company Pyypl has appointed Mustafa Amralla to strengthen its compliance and financial crime function as the company expands its regulatory capabilities across regional markets. Pyypl operates across regulatory frameworks overseen by the Financial Services Regulatory Authority (FSRA) in Abu Dhabi, the Central Bank of Bahrain, and the Astana Financial Services Authority within the Astana International Financial Centre. These jurisdictions require consistent internal standards for anti-money laundering, KYC, sanctions, and governance frameworks. Amralla joins Pyypl from Bahrain’s national anti-financial crime platform AMAN, where he served as Compliance Manager and Money Laundering Reporting Officer. He previously held compliance roles at…

Saudi Arabian insurtech DESAISIV has launched an AI platform to automate corporate insurance management and opened an US$8 million growth funding round. The company plans to use the capital to expand its product portfolio beyond corporate health insurance. It will enter areas such as motor insurance, leasing, general insurance, and other AI-powered enterprise risk solutions. Corporate insurance remains a major operational expense for businesses. Many organisations still rely on manual workflows, fragmented systems, and spreadsheets to manage their insurance needs. DESAISIV’s AI Insurance Agent uses advanced analytics to benchmark market pricing and evaluate policy performance. It also identifies cost-saving opportunities…

Emirates NBD Egypt is set to acquire HSBC Egypt’s retail banking business, transferring the bank’s retail loans, deposits, accounts, and supporting employees to the UAE banking group. The transaction forms part of HSBC’s broader effort to simplify its operations and focus on its corporate and institutional banking businesses. The parties expect to complete the deal in the second half of 2027, subject to regulatory approvals. HSBC expects the sale to generate an estimated pre-tax gain of around US$300 million. It will recognise the gain mainly upon completion and classify it as a material notable item. The transaction will have an…

MultiBank Group’s digital asset platform mb.io has integrated Botim to allow users in the UAE to fund their accounts directly within its trading app. The integration leverages Botim’s payment flow to reduce reliance on external payment steps. Account funding remains a fragmented process for many digital asset platforms. Users are frequently required to leave their trading application to complete payment steps elsewhere before returning to execute a trade. By adding Botim as a payment method, mb.io allows users to complete the funding process through a familiar interface. The partnership aims to reduce friction in the transition from fiat to digital…

du Pay has launched Flexi Cash Loan, a digital lending product that offers eligible customers up to AED 5,000 in short-term credit. The service targets customers with limited access to traditional banking products, including blue-collar workers, expatriates, and young professionals in the UAE. The company is introducing Flexi Cash Loan in phases, initially making it available to a portion of registered users. Customers can check their eligibility through the du Pay application, while du Pay disburses approved loans in less than 30 seconds without requiring physical paperwork. du Pay assesses eligibility based on customers’ usage of its digital wallet for…

Mawarid Finance and KamelPay have launched AbsoluteCard, a new corporate payment solution for businesses in the UAE. Powered by Mastercard and issued by Mawarid Finance, the product marks KamelPay’s expansion from workforce payments and salary processing into broader corporate expense management. The solution gives organisations real-time visibility and control over business spending, allowing companies to manage expenses digitally and streamline corporate payment processes. KamelPay previously focused on workforce payments through its PayD ecosystem, which the company said currently serves more than 1,600 corporate clients across the UAE. “Our collaboration with KamelPay reflects a shared vision of simplifying corporate financial management…

KamelPay has received Stored Value Facilities (SVF) and Retail Payment Services (RPS) licenses from the Central Bank of the UAE (CBUAE), allowing the UAE-born fintech to operate regulated payment services under the country’s payment framework. The approvals place KamelPay among a select group of fintech companies authorised to operate regulated payment services under the CBUAE framework. Founded in 2021, KamelPay provides payroll and business payment solutions for organisations across sectors including construction, retail, real estate, logistics, hospitality and financial services. The company currently serves more than 2,000 corporate clients and supports payments for over 400,000 employees across the UAE. The…

Commercial Bank of Dubai (CBD) has launched CBD Invest, a digital wealth management platform integrated directly into its existing mobile banking application. The product targets affluent, Elite and Private Banking customers. It offers direct trading of US-listed equities and ETFs alongside consolidated financial tracking. At the core of the offering is a feature called wealth 360, which the bank describes as a first in the market. The tool provides a unified view of a customer’s financial position. It aggregates CBD accounts with selected external assets and liabilities. CBD Invest also includes advanced portfolio analytics designed to support goal-based investing. Users…

Spend management platform Pemo has received in-principle approval for a Stored Value Facility (SVF) license from the Central Bank of the UAE (CBUAE). The approval will allow the company to hold and manage business funds digitally once the full licensing process is completed. Pemo expects to secure the final license in the coming months. The license, once granted, will allow the company to introduce a broader suite of financial products, including digital wallets and dedicated fund-holding capabilities tailored for SMEs. Enabling digital fund management An SVF license enables regulated entities to hold customer funds in digital accounts. This framework allows…

Emirates has launched Crypto.com Pay as a payment option for eligible UAE residents booking flights through its website and mobile application. Customers with a Crypto.com account can now select Crypto.com Pay at checkout for eligible bookings priced and settled in AED. Desktop users scan a QR code on the booking page and approve transactions through the Crypto.com app. Mobile users open their Crypto.com wallet to complete payments before returning to Emirates’ platform to receive booking confirmation. The launch follows a MoU signed between Emirates and Crypto.com in July 2025. The agreement explored the integration of Crypto.com Pay into the airline’s…

UAE telecom provider du has launched a digital transformation playbook for SMEs in collaboration with Huawei UAE. This guide outlines ways SMEs can enhance cash flow, improve payment experiences, and strengthen operational resilience through digital tools. The playbook, titled From Set Up to Set for Growth, is based on a digital transformation study involving face-to-face interviews with 648 UAE SMEs. The study team conducted the research between January and March 2026 across all seven emirates and five major industry sectors. The study found that while basic technology adoption is high, only 8% of surveyed SMEs have reached advanced digital maturity.…

Tanzanian fintech Tembo has secured a Payment Service Provider license from the National Bank of Rwanda. The regulatory approval allows the company to expand its business-to-business payment infrastructure into the Rwandan market. The Rwanda license comes as demand continues to grow for modern financial infrastructure supporting international trade, digital commerce, and cross-border payments across the continent. Founded in Dar es Salaam in 2020, Tembo builds payment infrastructure for businesses rather than serving consumers directly. The company currently operates across seven African markets and has processed more than US$1 billion in transaction volume for more than 100 enterprise customers. The fintech…

Yalla Financial Solutions has received in-principle approval from the Central Bank of the UAE (CBUAE) for a Category II Retail Payment Services license. The approval marks a step toward expanding the fintech company’s payment infrastructure in the UAE, subject to final regulatory clearance. The license falls under the CBUAE’s Retail Payment Services and Card Schemes Regulation. Once the final license is granted, Yalla plans to enhance its payment capabilities for consumers, merchants, and enterprises in the UAE market. The company currently operates across Egypt, the UAE, Saudi Arabia, and Pakistan. “Receiving the in-principle approval from the Central Bank of the…

The Central Bank of the UAE (CBUAE) and Indonesia are exploring cooperation to interconnect their payment systems to enable faster and more efficient cross-border transactions. CBUAE Governor Khaled Mohamed Balama and Indonesian Ambassador Judha Nugraha discussed ways to strengthen financial and banking ties between the two countries during a meeting at the CBUAE headquarters in Abu Dhabi. The discussions focused on developing digital payment infrastructure, advancing financial innovation, and creating more transparent and cost-effective solutions to support trade and investment flows between the UAE and Indonesia. The two sides also explored the implementation of Local Currency Transactions (LCT), which could…