In line with it’s “Dubai Blockchain Strategy” the Smart Dubai Office teamed up with Dubai’s Department of Finance to launch a blockchain powered payment system. The new system introduces blockchain technology into the Department’s processes, allowing transactions to be performed accurately and in real time and economising time and effort. The Department of Finance’s current procedures rely is a time-consuming process that could take up to 45 days. The blockchain powered system named “Payment Reconciliation and Settlement” is said to enable near real-time reconciliations and settlement which allows for clear visibility of funds; immediate disputes and claims resolution; transparency and immutability…

Abu Dhabi Global Market (ADGM), the international financial centre, has gone into an agreement with two major telcos in the region namely; Etisalat and Du. Both MoUs were signed during the 2018 FinTech Abu Dhabi Summit by ADGM held under the patronage of His Highness Sheikh Hazza bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Vice Chairman of the Abu Dhabi Executive Council. The agreement will see Etisalat and Du deploying and showcasing solutions to transform digital offerings across the Al Maryah island, a financial free zone in Abu Dhabi. The parties will explore appropriate business opportunities in areas of communication, technology infrastructure, innovation…

Not only United Arab Emirates (UAE) have beeen recently scrutinizing this new financing mechanism, but they have as well recognized sold tokens as securities. Will this further step be the right one for the cryptosphere based in these new dynamic regions in which Blockchain activities keep massively growing? Initial Coin Offering Regulation in the United Arab Emirates Local financial regulators from the UAE, the Securities and Commodities Authority (SCA) have recently approved a new draft on the ICOs directives. Tokens sold through ICO will from now on be categorised as financial securities. This decision comes after a lengthy review of best…

Abu Dhabi Global Market (ADGM), the International Financial Centre in Abu Dhabi, has approved its third batch of Regulatory Laboratory (RegLab) participants in its bespoke regulatory framework. RegLab allows successful applicants to test their products according to regulatory requirements tailored to contain the specific risks and impact of their particular test. This time around, its 10 local and international fintech startups were chosen out of 36 applications. Those selected hail from regions such as UAE, Kenya, India, Singapore and the United Kingdom. They will join a larger pool of 16 firms who were part of the first and second cohorts. CEO of…

Abu Dhabi Global Market (ADGM), the International Financial Centre in Abu Dhabi, announced an initiative to launch a FinTech digital sandbox. The digital sandbox allows financial institutions (FIs) and FinTech innovators to come together to experiment on products and solutions in a digital platform environment, supported by regulatory standards developed by the Financial Services Regulatory Authority (FSRA) of ADGM. The ADGM digital sandbox allows: FIs to source and procure FinTech solutions locally and globally, run tests digitally on the platform, and adopt and orchestrate the best ones that meet their business needs. FinTechs to offer their innovative solutions to international…

Abu Dhabi Global Market (ADGM), the award-winning International Financial Centre in Abu Dhabi, today successfully launched its second edition of FinTech Abu Dhabi Summit under the patronage of His Highness Sheikh Hazza Bin Zayed Al Nahyan. At the FinTech Abu Dhabi Summit, H.E Ahmed Al Sayegh, Chairman of ADGM, announced several significant initiatives, which includes the launch of Abu Dhabi’s fintech digital sandbox to host the testing of new products and the capital city joining the ASEAN Financial Innovation Network to foster cross border opportunities between Abu Dhabi and Singapore. During the Fintech Abu Dhabi Summit, H.E Ahmed Sayegh also…

Egypt’s A15 has just announced that they’re exiting UAE-based Tpay today, selling off its majority stake to Helios from Africa. Now collectively holding 24% of the stake, A15 along with the current executive team will continue to lead the implementation of Tpay’s expansion phase, with input from its new owners. Prior to the sale, A15 held a 76% stake in the company. Established in 2014, Tpay was an early player in the open mobile payment platforms in the region and, today, holds a huge slice of the direct central billing (DCB) space, with availability across 16 countries including the Middle East…

Following its success with July with its maiden investment round, Smart Crowd, is celebrating the completion its second investment opportunity in just three days. Smart Crowd is a Dubai based real-estate crowdfunding platform which allows fractional ownership of properties. This form of co-ownership lowers the barrier of entry for property investment, which typically can be quite restrictive due to its high prices. Via crowdfunding, Smart Crowd the chance for those without high wealth to buy and share investments in property, as well as the catering to wealthier more seasoned investors. Smart Crowd Co-Founder Siddiq Farid says: “We offered the chance to…

Following Ripple’s recent pilot with the Saudi Arabian Monetary Authority, the National Commercial Bank (NCB) has joined RippleNet. NCB was the first bank established in the country; today, it’s one of the largest financial institutions in the Middle East with more than 5.4 million customers worldwide. NCB will connect to other financial institutions around the world through RippleNet. Ripple’s blockchain technology also provides their customers with faster and more transparent international payment services. The bank will first connect to financial institutions in North America and Asia, starting in Singapore. Launching these two critical payments corridors out of the gate offers immediate value to…

Mashreq Bank has begun implementing artificial intelligence, machine learning, and cognitive capabilities into its daily banking operations by buying into Virtusa Corporation’s Blue Prism Digital Workforce program. The UK-based software provides enterprise-level robotic process automation  that eliminates manual data entry and processing work. The software has been utilised by various banks across the globe like Barclays Africa Group, BNY Mellon, Commerzbank, Nordea, ING and Westpac. Some of the software’s functionalities include real-time insights, multi-lingual user interfaces, insights across a digital workforce, and ability to integrate with cloud-based platforms. Mashreq worked with Virtusa’s Global Automation practice to cater-make specific solutions that suit the…

Abu Dhabi Commercial Bank (ADCB) has been appointed as the corporate champion of the upcoming Innovation Challenge 2018 that will be held in September. This means that the bank will be bringing their corporate know-how to the table to collaborate with selected fintech firms—to develop an account receivables/invoice factoring service for SMEs that is seamless, paperless and secured. ADCB identified the problem that fintech startups will be innovating to solve, as a corporate champion perk. The result of their joint efforts will be presented at the 2018 FinTech Abu Dhabi Summit on 17 September to an audience of financial institutions, regulators,…

In the Middle East and North African (MENA) region, the fintech industry is rapidly growing with the number of fintech startups in the region more than doubling between 2013 and 2015. According to experts and industry observers, the staggering 86% of unbanked people are creating a huge opportunity for fintech and insurtech companies to create innovative solutions to fill the void left by incumbents. And a growing number of investors have recognized the prospects of fintech and insurtech in the region, pouring millions to help startups grow and expand. The followings are ten of the Middle East’s most well-funded fintech…

Across the Middle East, fintech is transforming the delivery of financial services. In recent years, many acceleration and incubation programs have emerged to nurture local fintech startups and develop a thriving ecosystem. Here are some of the Middle East’s most notable fintech accelerators and incubators: 1864 Accelerator –  Cairo, Egypt The 1864 Accelerator was the first local fintech-focused startup accelerator program of its kind to launch in Egypt. Powered by Flat6Labs in partnership with Barclays Bank Egypt, the accelerator acts as a platform for fostering the fintech innovation space in Egypt through enabling entrepreneurs to transform their disruptive ideas…

A national draft project is aiming at introducing a state-backed digital currency. Iran’s Central Bank deputy for innovative technologies, Nasser Hakimi, advances the regulatory apparatus should be finalized within one month. Ban crypto or create crypto? A previous post already commented on the severe and “unprecedented” U.S. sanctions Iran is currently facing. As a matter of fact, several French and European companies began to disinvest and cease their operations. Among others, let’s mention the heavyweights such as Total, PSA and the European aerospace corporation, Airbus which was about to enter into a new deal with IranAir. Before summer, the famous…

A High Representative of the Iranian government has once again expressed how cryptocurrency could play a vital and major role for the country’s economy. It gradually seems that Iran is at all costs seeking an alternative to the current and future economic pressures from the United States. Trump’s Iran Sanctions At the beginning of the summer, this Islamic republic drew special worldwide attention; Tehran regime was in the spotlight. Not only crypto enthusiasts were keenly scrutinizing what was happening, but rather a vast majority of countries having their businesses and companies established in the Persian Gulf. Donald Trump’s ruthlessness on…

Whether you’ve registered your  for these upcoming fintech events, or are still considering whether to attend, booking your accommodation early is always advisable in order to ensure a hassle-free trip. Here are some of the closest hotels to the conference venues; although some will require a drive, others are just a few minutes’ walk away. ABU DHABI [17 September 2018] Fintech Abu Dhabi 1. Traders Hotel Qaryat al Beri Abu Dhabi by Shangri-La The Traders Hotel is just 10 minutes’ drive from the Abu Dhabi Airport and offers spa recreational facilities, all-day dining restaurants, and access to the Lobby Lounge. Guests…

Yemen is an Arab sovereign state in Western Asia at the southern end of the Arabian Peninsula and the second-largest country (27 Million population) in the peninsula. It is also the poorest country in the Arab region, according to the UN. Once the most advanced region in the Arabia and the crossroad of Africa, the Middle East and Asia, Yemen’s recent history is one of division and bloodshed. Despite positive political developments in 2013, Yemen continues to be a large-scale humanitarian crisis, with more than half the population, 14.7 million people, in need of some form of humanitarian assistance, and a base…

The startup economy in the Middle East and North African (MENA) region continues to grow this year. In the first six months of 2018, it registered a record number of transactions with 141 investments, a 12% increase over the corresponding period. One sector in particular that has boomed is fintech. This market is estimated at US$2 billion and is expected to witness an annual growth of US$125 million until 2022, according to MENA Research Partners (MRP), a leading research company in the region. Fintech to improve financial inclusion Image by Jirsak via Shutterstock.com MENA has seen a sharp increase in the number of fintech startups being…

Fintech is growing rapidly in Turkey. Investment in Turkish fintech companies grew 175% from US$4.6 million in 2012 to US$29 million in 2016, and the overall Turkish fintech industry, which counts more than 200 companies, according to the Fintech Ecosystem in Turkey report by Deloitte, BKM and Fintech Istanbul, is estimated to be worth US$15 billion. Given the rapid rise of fintech in Turkey, here are ten fintech companies in the country you should know: Iyzico Sometimes dubbed the “Stripe of Turkey,” Iyzico provides a payment management platform to online companies. Currently the company offers IyziPos, a virtual point-of-sale (POS) solution with…

In Egypt, fintech is set to play a key role in providing basic financial services to the large pool of unbanked people, according to experts and industry observers. Egypt is the most populous nation in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) with nearly 100 million people, 52% of which are below the age of 25. But only 14% of adults had a formal bank account as of 2014, accordingto the World Bank Global Findex database. Egypt’s young population, large pool of unbanked and high mobile penetration rate (more mobile subscriptions – 110 million – than its population) represent an opportunity…