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.…

Bahrain-based Tarabut Gateway has expanded to the United Arab Emirates with the launch of its open banking platform in the country. The company has simultaneously opened two new offices at Abu Dhabi’s global tech ecosystem, Hub71 and Dubai’s DIFC FinTech Hive. Tarabut Gateway offers a regional model and is already connected to a number of retail banks, having built what they say is the largest multi-sided open API infrastructure that launched in 2019. Through its secure and universal open API platform, Tarabut Gateway creates opportunities and fosters collaboration between financial institutions and fintechs. The business is led by Abdulla Almoayed,…

Standard Chartered Bank (SCB) will participate in Islamic Development Bank’s (IsDB) Restore Track Program aimed at supporting IsDB’s member countries’ SMEs through stimulus packages. IsDB President Dr. Bandar Hajjar and M. Sunil Kaushal, CEO for Africa and Middle East, SCB signed a Memorandum of Agreement for this collaboration. This agreement leverages on IsDB’s US$2 billion “COVID Guarantee Facility” to establish an operational cooperation framework for IsDB and SCB to facilitate financing arrangements to IsDB’s member countries. The COVID-19 pandemic has disrupted international financial channels and put pressure on hard currency inflows in emerging markets. This pressure led to considerable limitations…

The Central Bank of Bahrain has announced the launch of FinHub 973, a digital fintech lab in the region. The platform was launched in cooperation with the Bahrain Economic Development Board, Bank ABC, ila Bank, BENEFIT, National Bank of Bahrain (NBB) and Bahrain Islamic Bank (BisB). Through an AI-powered global fintech marketplace, FinHub 973 aims to connect financial institutions in Bahrain and the region to fintech startups across the world. Regulated by the Central Bank of Bahrain, the digital lab will also offer matchmaking and crowdsourcing capabilities, which will help contribute to the design of effective fintech solutions. FinHub 973…

Commercial Bank of Dubai (CBD) has signed an agreement with NOW Money, a digital account service, to provide accounts and cards targeted specifically at low-income customers. NOW Money will open accounts for existing CBD low-income customers (previously known as Rateb customers) with immediate effect, allowing these customers to benefit from the digital experience and a range of low-cost financial services. These accounts will also be offered to customers currently not banking with CBD. “We’re thrilled to be partnering with CBD. Our joint aim is to give lower-income people access to the digital financial system for the first time. We are…

BIOS Middle East, provider of cloud and managed IT services for enterprises, announced that it will offer VMware’s SD-WAN to customers in the UAE and Saudi Arabia. BIOS said it would be the first cloud provider to launch VMware SD-WAN in these countries. VMware SD-WAN claims to deliver high performance and reliable access from branches or work-from-anywhere locations to cloud services, private data centers and SaaS-based enterprise applications in a cost-effective manner. It simplifies branch wide area networking by automating deployment and improving performance over private, broadband Internet, and LTE links for today’s distributed enterprises. VMware SD-WAN is a foundational…

Though still in early stage, the Middle East’s fintech sector is rapidly growing, fueled by a young demographic eager to adopt new digital solutions, low penetration of formal banking channels, and the region’s governments push for fintech adoption, says a new report by Indian fintech consulting firm The Digital Fifth. The report, titled Digital Evolution in Middle East, gives an overview of the Middle East’s fintech sector, highlighting the key drivers of growth across the region as well as pointing out the challenges local startups in the space are facing. According to the report, the growth of the region’s fintech…

HPD LendScape, a lending platform vendor, has partnered with Emirates Development Bank (EDB) to launch UAE’s National Supply Chain Finance (SCF) platform. This gives UAE businesses improved access to working capital, particularly as they cope with the added pressures of the COVID-19 pandemic. SCF solutions enable suppliers to gain quicker access to money they are owed, while buyers get more time to pay off their balances and the new platform will offer a simple, fast and transparent way for bank lenders to onboard both buyers and suppliers. The initial phase of the project offering a payables finance solution has now…

The Qatar FinTech Hub (QFTH), co-founded by Qatar Development Bank (QDB) has announced the final list of successful fintechs set to join Wave-1 of its incubator and accelerator programmes. Both programmes are set to start on October 14 and will run until December 2020. In April 2020, QFTH unveiled its Wave-1 rigorous 12-week programmes designed to cater to both local and global fintech entrepreneurs and startups looking for a launch pad to boost their growth at an international level. Following a thorough and multilevel evaluation process, the top 55 fintechs were invited to present their solutions via virtual pitch days.…

Abu Dhabi Global Market (ADGM) announced that Emmanuel Givanakis, will take on the new position as Chief Executive Officer of ADGM’s Financial Services Regulatory Authority (FSRA) in April 2021. Mr. Givanakis, said to be a key driver in the establishment of Abu Dhabi’s International Finance Centre (IFC), is currently the Senior Executive Director of Policy and Legal at the FSRA. He will succeed Richard Teng, who plans to step down at end-March 2021 as the inaugural CEO of FSRA after six successful years in ADGM. Mr. Givanakis joined ADGM in October 2014 as Director of Policy and Legal at FSRA…

Dubai-based Global Property Finance, provider of real estate financing solutions, aims to launch its cloud-based lending platform based on AI for financial institutions. The platform will purportedly simplify the borrowing experience. GPF looks to use AI for borrowers and lenders matchmaking, for quicker turn-around time for both parties. For borrowers, they can apply for financing through their desktop, tablet or mobile device. They can communicate in real-time, stay up-to-date on the status of their loan and receive gentle reminders when outstanding tasks need to be completed. For lenders, GPF will aim to provide in-house underwritten deals and a low cost…

STC Pay, a Saudi Arabian digital wallet, has selected banking software company Temenos to expand its digital payments capabilities, aiming to double its customer base by 2021. The e-wallet that was launched in late 2018, has chosen the API-first Temenos Transact and Temenos Payments to provide a single, digital platform on which STC Pay can create and update digital services for retail customers. Temenos Payments is said to provide Straight-Through Processing (STP) rates over 99% and will underpin STC Pay’s digital customer experiences. Temenos Payments will be integrated with Temenos Transact, the next-generation core banking product, and deployed on private cloud…