Globally, initiatives across different jurisdictions have emerged to make open banking a reality, ranging from direct regulatory requirements, like what’s been done in the UK and the European Union (EU), to market-coordination and industry-led initiatives such as in the US and Switzerland. In the Middle East, open banking remains in its infancy with just a handful of startups and so far only one jurisdiction having taken significant steps towards the change. In the region, Bahrain has been a pioneer in the domain, and was the first country in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) to introduce regulations requiring all…

Card company UnionPay International partners Abu Dhabi Islamic Bank (ADIB) to enable UnionPay card and contactless payment transactions on the bank’s 15,000 near field communications (NFC) terminals in the UAE. As a safer payment method during the COVID-19 pandemic, UnionPay International has been pushing for contactless and online payments solutions as part of its efforts to protect consumers at the checkout. All of the bank’s point of sale (POS) terminals have been enabled to provide a contactless payment service. The bank’s 15,000 NFC terminals are spread across many industries and service types including hospitals, hotels, government, supermarkets and everything in between.…

FSS (Financial Software and Systems), a global payments technology company, announced that it would be expanding its footprint to the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA). KSA is among the advanced digital payment economies in the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC), with growth propelled by a combination of strategic investments in building digital infrastructure and enabling regulatory policy framework. A proactive proponent of electronic payments, KSA has set an ambitious target to achieve 70% non-cash transactions by 2030, opening promising revenue opportunities for established banks as well as fintech players. The growth is also poised to bring in disruption from new market…

The Abu Dhabi Global Market Financial Services Regulatory Authority (ADGM FSRA) and the Israel Securities Authority (ISA) have entered into a fintech cooperation agreement. The agreement provides a framework for information sharing as well as facilitating the movement of startups, knowledge, and talent between the two jurisdictions. With this new partnership, the ADGM FSRA and the ISA will undertake initiatives to promote economic growth in financial services through the adoption of new technology and the strengthening of their respective fintech sectors. “Following the signature of the historic Abraham Accords, we are excited to enter this FinTech Cooperation Agreement with the…

Western Union, an American worldwide financial services and communications company, has set out to acquire a 15% stake for $200 million in Saudi Digital Payments Company (stc pay), a fully owned subsidiary of Saudi Telecom Company. The transaction is expected to close in the first quarter of 2021, subject to receiving all regulatory approvals. stc pay has rapidly developed into a leading digital wallet service in Saudi Arabia, a young and quickly developing market which offers huge potential for digital services. With a strong base of over 4 million customers and an established regional brand in the fast-growing digital wallet…

StashAway, a South East Asian digital wealth manager, has launched in the Dubai International Financial Center (DIFC), a financial hub for the Middle East, Africa and South Asia (MEASA) markets. The platform is available to local and international clients in the region. Founded in 2016 in Singapore and with operations also in Malaysia and now the UAE, StashAway reportedly has users from more than 145 countries and of 174 nationalities. The company is said to have seen its assets under management grow more than 4.3 times in the last 12 months, and plans to build on this momentum with continuous…

Dubai has launched a new one-year residency program targeted at overseas remote workers, digital nomads and their families. The so-called “virtual working” program gives these professionals the possibility relocate to the emirate and continue to work for their current overseas employer, while securing key documents required to rent housing, access banking services, and overall settle down. The new program aims to address the changing world of work and demonstrate Dubai’s “progressive thinking and sustained competitiveness in today’s rapidly changing global landscape,” Sami Al Qamzi, director general of Dubai Economy, said on October 14. Individuals accepted under the program will gain…

DIFC has launched its startup incubator dubbed as the DIFC Innovation Hub. Collectively, over 250 firms are able to work together to develop and introduce innovative solutions and business models that will redefine the future of finance with the aim of providing sustained economic growth. The environment allows businesses to develop new ideas safely and thrive at each stage of their business lifecycle. Although over 50% of fintech startups in the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) are already based in DIFC, this move formalises the end-to-end DIFC Innovation Hub proposition. The hub is expected to attract more entrepreneurs and growth companies…

Alinma Bank has partnered with Japanese credit card company JCB International Co., Ltd. (JCBI) to enable the acceptance of JCB Cards through its POS and ATM network devices deployed in Saudi. The expansion is in line with the Kingdom’s strategic vision to promote both a cashless society and financial inclusion as part of Vision 2030. The partnership is also a continuation of JCB’s plan for entering the market in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, a destination of ever-increasing importance for its cardholders around the world for both business and tourism. The partnership will give added convenience to JCB cardholders from…

Dubai International Financial Centre (DIFC) announced that Ripple, the enterprise blockchain solution for global payments, has established its regional headquarters there. Ripple reportedly chose DIFC for its “innovative regulations, expansive network and reputation as a leading global financial center”. Cointelegraph previously reported that Ripple initially had shortlisted Japan and Singapore as potential locations for its new offices, citing SBI Holdings CEO Yoshitaka Kitao as the source. DIFC is home to an internationally recognised, independent regulator and a proven judicial system with an English common law framework, as well as the region’s largest financial ecosystem of more than 25,000 professionals working across…

The Central Bank of the UAE (CBUAE) and Abu Dhabi Global Market (ADGM) have announced the seven winners of the fourth annual FinTech Abu Dhabi Innovation Challenge, one of the flagship initiatives of the FinTech Abu Dhabi event. Following a five-month highly competitive selection process, seven firms including Uqudo (United Arab Emirates), Market IQ (Canada), Taiger (Singapore), modefinance (Italy), FutureFlow (UK), Elucidate (Germany) and Finverity (United Kingdom) were selected from a total of 189 applications. Their solutions demonstrate innovative ideas to address the pain points of the financial service sector and focus on initiatives to promote financing for small and…

The Capital Markets Authority of Saudi Arabia (CMA) has granted the Financial Technology Experimental Permit (FinTech ExPermit) to the Sukuk Capital Company and Osool & Bakheet Investment Company. The FinTech ExPermit aims to provide a regulatory framework conducive to the innovation of fintech in the capital market within the kingdom. The FinTech ExPermit was announced by the authority in 2017, and the first batch of applications were submitted by February in 2018. Based on this permit, Sukuk Capital Company will enable small and medium size enterprises (SME) to obtain the required funding by arranging the offering of Sukuk to finance…

Though still a nascent industry in the United Arab Emirates (UAE), neobanking is steadily making inroads into the country. Last month, news broke that Abu Dhabi state-owned holding company ADQ will be setting up a digital bank in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) with an initial capital of US$544 million, according to a Bloomberg report. ADQ will be using the legacy banking license of First Abu Dhabi Bank (FAB), the biggest lender in the UAE. FAB, formed following a merger between First Gulf Bank (FGB) and National Bank of Abu Dhabi (NBAD), will transfer its license for FGB to ADQ.…

Veolia Middle East, a provider of environmental engineering services, announced an accelerator programme aiming to support social startups, SMEs focused on creating a more sustainable future. Selected start-ups will be invited to pitch to the Veolia Management team in December. The cooperation phase will start early 2021. Selected applicant will take part in numerous pitching stages in front of Veolia’s management teams, resulting in four winning startups securing a place in the acceleration stage in 2021. Each startup in the acceleration stage will have access to Veolia’s mentorship, and gain access to the company’s network of trained experts, laboratories, and…

Fitze, United Arab Emirates’ (UAE) fitness rewards-based app, announced the launch of its challenge of 30 days 200k steps in line with the Dubai Fitness Challenge. Launched in 2017, the Dubai Fitness Challenge is an annual celebration of fitness and wellness where citizens are  encouraged to complete 30 minutes of activity each day for 30 days. Fitze’s reward application launched in the UAE is free of cost and can be downloaded on smartphones through the App Store, Google Play store and Huawei app gallery. In order to have a chance of winning more exclusive rewards and prizes, users can take…

Cybersecurity company LogRhythm has launched reporting capabilities and compliance use cases that make it simple and efficient to comply with the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia’s (KSA) Essential Cybersecurity Controls (ECC). It enables organisations of all kinds to use automation to meet the minimum cybersecurity requirements for information and technology assets operating within the KSA. The reports and use cases can be deployed in LogRhythm’s NextGen Security Information and Event Management (SIEM) platform, delivering rapid regulatory compliance. Organisations of all sizes can reportedly create a secure foundation for digital transformation, adopting new applications and services, and growing their operations. The predefined…

Dubai Startup Hub, an initiative of Dubai Chamber of Commerce and Industry, has announced the launch of the Scale-Up Dubai programme. The programme is intended to aid fast-growing startups or scale-ups by providing in-depth knowledge, guidance and tailored support. Joining the pilot programme are scale-ups that have already developed viable businesses and benefited from their participation in Dubai Startup Hub’s Market Access programme, which fosters partnerships between startups and leading corporates in Dubai. Over the last few months, the selected scale-ups took part in several interactive sessions that provided valuable insights on business setup, and global expansion as well as…

First Abu Dhabi Bank (FAB), has fully digitised its account opening processes for SMEs in the United Arab Emirates region through its BASHER portal. The Government of the United Arab Emirates represented by The Department of Proactive Services – Ministry of Possibilities (MOP) launched BASHER. The portal aims to simplify the process of starting a business within 15 minutes without having to submit any documents or conduct any visits to a customer center. BASHER purportedly allows SMEs to explore the market, set up their business and obtain business licenses and supporting documents in simple steps, allowing investors to start their…

The Seamless Awards is a leading awards series for the payments, ecommerce and retail industry in the Middle East. The following projects have been shortlisted and we are very happy that Fintech News Middle East was selected for the category website of the year. The winners will be announced on November 16 during Seamless Middle East conference. This year the event will be held online and offline. DIGITAL LEADER OF THE YEAR Winner will be announced at the Awards ceremony

SINNAD has teamed up with Compass Plus to enable its customer banks to offer secure and tokenised mobile payments through BenefitPay, the country’s national electronic wallet payment system. As part of the project, SINNAD certified its processing center, built on Compass Plus’ solutions, with the tokenisation service from Bahrain Electronic Network for Financial Transactions (BENEFIT). The Central Bank of Bahrain and BENEFIT – the country’s national switch – introduced BenefitPay, a wallet that allows consumers to conduct electronic fund transfer and pay for goods and services, and enable merchants to accept contactless and QR payments, via the BenefitPay mobile app.…