Home to over 150 fintech companies, Kenya has one of the biggest and most developed fintech ecosystems in the African continent, owning to the proliferation of mobile phones and the rise of mobile money. Similarly to other developing markets, Kenya’s fintech wave has been built on mobile phones, whose adoption in the continent accelerated around the turn of the millennium and are now pervasive. Telecommunication giant Safaricom recognized early on the potential of mobile phones and the mobile channel to deliver banking and financial services to the masses. In 2007, it launched M-Pesa, a SIM-based mobile banking service that requires…

The Financial Services Regulatory Authority (FSRA) of Abu Dhabi Global Market (ADGM) has introduced a new regulatory framework for the authorisation and supervision of fintech firms providing third party services to customers of financial institutions. Third Party Providers (TPPs) are firms that act as intermediaries between customers and the financial institutions that provide services to them in order to help customers manage and use their own data more effectively when undertaking financial transactions. The new framework will allow and support the improved and holistic management of personal finances by focusing the new regulated activity for TPPs on the accessing, processing…

The Fintech News Network is pleased to announce the launch of our eighth publication; Fintech News Africa. The Fintech News Network is an industry publication covering fintech and digital news across the globe. Our readers are from established financial institutions as well as budding fintech startups. Eight publications are currently present in four continents, covering fintech news across 44 different countries. The list of publications include; Fintech News Switzerland (soft launched end of 2014), Fintech News Singapore (2015), Fintech News Hong Kong (launched in 2016), Fintech News Middle East (launched in 2017), Fintech News Malaysia (launched in 2018), Fintech News…

SABB and Geidea launched a partnership to launch an app-based tap-on-phone (SoftPoS) solution under the enablement and guidance of Saudi Payments. The payment acceptance process via smartphones combines SABB’s digital banking services with Geidea’s payments acceptance technology expertise. The initiative aims to drive digital payment acceptance in the Kingdom aligned with the Vision 2030 and Financial Sector Development Program to promote cashless economy. Majed Najm, Deputy Managing Director, Corporate and Institutional Banking of SABB said, “SoftPoS is one such initiative that will be a game changer in the KSA payment landscape. This is just the beginning to our great…

NOW Money, a Dubai-based digital banking solution provider for low-income migrant workers, has secured $7 million in a funding round led by venture investor, Anthemis Exponential Ventures. Anthemis Exponential Ventures was joined by a consortium of investors including Knuru Capital, Wamda, Commercial Bank of Dubai, DIFC Fintech Fund, Accion Venture Lab, Greenhouse Capital andHambro Perks Oryx Fund, amongst others. NOW Money also received supporting funding from Expo 2020 and Visa. The cash injection will initially be used to drive NOW Money’s growth in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, beginning with strategic new hires and local infrastructure in Riyadh. In addition…

The Dubai Financial Services Authority (DFSA) is requesting feedback on its proposed regulation of security tokens. The DFSA has published its “Framework for Regulating Security Tokens” which includes derivatives as well and will be open to public consultation for a period of 30 days. The regulator has actively engaged with key stakeholders in Dubai and around the world on various Distributed Ledger Technology (DLT) applications. DFSA has proposed to update its regulatory regime to facilitate DLT-based activities of: the offer of security tokens to the public, and the admission to trading of security tokens on trading facilities; the trading of security…

The Saudi Central Bank (SAMA) has granted two licenses to International Digital Solutions Co and Azm Fintech Co to provide payment services. This brings the total number of payments companies licensed by SAMA to 13 companies. This step comes from the central bank’s supportive role to empower the financial technology sector by allowing the entry of new activities to strengthen and support the payments sector. The move also aims to attract a new segment of investors and companies to work under its supervision, and in a manner that ensures the efficiency of the work of these companies, by adhering to…

Ethiopia’s large population of unbanked, the government’s current digital push, and recent finance reforms are bringing new opportunities for fintech startups and financial innovation. With more than 112 million people, Ethiopia is the second-most populous nation in Africa and is home to the fastest growing economy on the continent registering double-digit year-over-year growth for the past 10 years. Nearly 65% of Ethiopia’s population is under 25 years old, and there are some 45 million mobile subscribers with 17 million smartphones, showcasing the proliferation of mobile devices. At the same time, Ethiopia is also one of the poorest in Africa with…

MoneyGram, an American money transfer company, announced that it has signed an agreement to launch its remittance capabilities on Pay+, a mobile wallet powered by Ooredoo Oman and the National Bank of Oman (NBO). The partnership is expected to be live for consumers in the next month. Pay+ is said to be a first-to-market development for customers in Oman to make deposits, withdrawals, bill payments and local and international money transfers. This partnership will give customers the ability to use the mobile wallet to transfer money in near real-time with access to the MoneyGram global distribution network which spans over…

A survey conducted by Várri Consultancy, a Dubai-based consultancy focused on strategy and risk assessment, found that as the UAE fintech industry continues to grow, there are greater risks and uncertainties that lies ahead compared to a year ago. The “UAE Fintech survey 2021” had polled the opinions of over a hundred leading companies within the fintech sector to assess the levels of risks. The primary risk drivers include supply chain disruptions, liquidity risk, IT and cyber risk. Underscoring specific threats, more than half of the respondents said their company had been the subject of a cyber-attack in the last…

The Central Bank of the UAE (CBUAE) has issued two new regulations namely the Large-Value Payment Systems (LVPS) Regulation and the Retail Payment Systems (RPS) Regulation. Both regulations apply to payment systems operating in the UAE and payment systems that offer clearing or settlement in Dirham outside the UAE. The two regulations aim to promote robust financial infrastructure, which is essential for financial stability and consumer protection. They also facilitate the UAE’s international competitiveness. The LVPS regulation sets standards for financial infrastructure systems that support wholesale payment activities in the UAE. Meanwhile, the RPS regulation focuses on systems for retail…

Saudi-based crowdlending platform Lendo announced that it has successfully raised US$ 7.2 million (SR 27 million) in Series A within a year of its launch. The Series A round was led by Derayah Ventures, with participation from Seedra, Shorooq Partners, 500 startups, and Impact46. Lendo said that the new funds will be deployed to accelerate the company’s plans to deepen its platform capabilities, and expand the product offering with a more sector-focused solution-based approach. Co-founded in 2019 by Osama AlRaee, CEO and Mohammad Jawabri, COO, Lendo is shari’ah compliant and offers financing to SMEs. Lendo is licensed by SAMA (Saudi…

African payments company Flutterwave announced that it has secured US$170 million during its Series C round, attaining unicorn status with a valuation of more than USD $1 billion. The round was led by growth-equity firms Avenir Growth Capital and Tiger Global Management LLC. Other investors include DST Global, Early Capital Berrywood, Green Visor Capital, Greycroft, Insight Ventures, Salesforce Ventures, Tiger Management, WorldpayFIS, and 9yards Capital. Founded by entrepreneur Olugbenga Agboola in 2016, the fundraise brings the total investment in Flutterwave to US$225 million. Flutterwave will invest the new capital to accelerate customer acquisition in existing and international markets, as well…

Citi has announced the launch of a new service for its institutional clients that speeds up the processing of their cross-border payments through the digitisation of supporting documents. With Citi’s new service, documents can be completed, processed and tracked digitally via Citi’s CitiDirect BE® electronic banking platform. The platform also provides users with upfront details about the documentation and data requirements for different payment types. This single-window service reportedly creates clear linkages between payments and related documents and cuts document fulfillment and processing times by more than half. In addition, users can also track the status of their documents on…

Emirates NBD announced that it has integrated its website with UAE PASS, enabling individual customers to seamlessly open a bank account using their UAE PASS credentials. The UAE PASS app is the first national digital identity and signature solution that enables users to identify themselves to government service providers through smartphone-based authentication. It also enables users to sign documents digitally with a high level of security. By downloading the UAE PASS app and completing registration at one of over 300 UAE PASS kiosks in the UAE, the user will have a single digital identity across various government entities, as well…

baraka, a UAE-based fintech startup, introduced its proprietary commission-free mobile trading platform following a pre-seed capital raise of USD 1 million. The secure and user-friendly app is aims to officially launch in the second quarter of 2021, subject to regulatory approval. Once available for download, the app will provide access to over 4,000 US listed securities, including stocks, Exchange Traded Funds (ETFs) and fractional shares. Users will gain free access to the mobile trading app, as well as the option of a paid tier offering stock analysis, with no minimum investment requirements. The funding round was led by Class 5…

Sarwa, a Dubai-based investment advisory platform, is launching a zero-commission trade service in the United Arab Emirates (UAE). The new feature will allow clients to buy and sell stocks as well as funds through the Sarwa app within a few clicks. They will have access to $0 commission trades of global stocks and ETFs. Sarwa said that the service is suitable for “investors who are curious about investing in stocks they strongly believe in or ones looking to consolidate their different investments into one platform while using an affordable option”. In addition to letting users execute trades, the app will…

Egyptian fintech startup NowPay signed a Memorandum of Understanding with the Export Development Bank of Egypt (EBE) for a credit facility to fund NowPay’s current salary advances product and future development of new products. NowPay allows corporate employees to get their salaries in advance any time in the month through its mobile app, which means access to emergency funding anytime, hence better management of their budget. Launched in 2019, NowPay aims at lowering employees’ financial stress by improving the financial wellness for employees. The company most recently raised $2.1 million in seed investment in May 2020 in a round that…

PayPal announced that it has agreed to acquire Curv to accelerate and expand its initiatives to support cryptocurrencies and digital assets. Curv is a provider of cloud-based infrastructure for digital asset security based in Tel Aviv, was founded in 2018 by CEO Itay Malinger and CTO Dan Yadlin. In October 2020, PayPal announced its commitment to help shape the role that digital currencies will play in the future of financial services and commerce. To drive sustained growth and innovation in this area, the company recently created a business unit focused on blockchain, crypto and digital currencies. Curv will join the…

Dubai-based neobank YAP has launched as the first independent digital banking platform in the UAE according to Reuters. YAP said that more than 20,000 customers have pre-registered and the accounts will gradually go live in coming weeks. YAP has not independently secured its own banking license but has instead partnered with RAKBANK which will provide international bank account numbers for the neobank users and secure their funds under its own banking license. As part of its digital banking offerings, YAP will be offering services such as spending and budgeting analytics, peer-to-peer payments and remittances services and bill payments. YAP will…