Sheikh Mansour bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Vice President, Deputy Prime Minister, Chairman of the Presidential Court, and Chairman of the Board of Directors of the Central Bank of the UAE (CBUAE), chaired the board meeting on 17 December at Qasr Al Watan, Abu Dhabi. Sheikh Mansour welcomed attendees and highlighted the CBUAE’s achievements in 2025, stating that the Central Bank is “steadily advancing, in line with the directives of the wise leadership, in implementing ambitious strategies that enhance financial stability, improve the efficiency of the financial system, support the digital transformation journey, and contribute to developing an innovative and secure…

Presight has opened applications for the second cohort of its AI Accelerator programme. The initiative aims to support the commercial adoption of AI solutions and accelerate the deployment of applied AI products. Applications are open to AI startups, founders, and entrepreneurs worldwide from 15 December 2025, closing on 31 January 2026. Presight will conduct screening and interviews in February to select the top 30 applicants. This will be followed by a pitch day to determine the finalists. The second cohort builds on the first, which received over 120 applications from 17 countries. From these, 10 startups were selected for a…

PayPal is in discussions with fintech companies in Africa as it prepares to launch a cross-border digital wallet platform on the continent in 2026, Otto Williams, the company’s head of Middle East and Africa, told Semafor. The move is part of PayPal’s effort to tap into Africa’s rapidly growing digital payments market. The new platform, PayPal World, is designed to allow interoperability between local digital wallets and international payments. Users will be able to pay using a PayPal button that connects to their existing wallet, rather than creating a new PayPal account. The company announced the initiative in July, highlighting…

Ottu has signed a strategic agreement with Mastercard to advance digital commerce in the GCC. The partnership combines Mastercard Merchant Cloud with Ottu’s regional expertise to simplify local payment methods for businesses. Under the collaboration, Ottu will use Mastercard Merchant Cloud, a payments platform connecting to more than 200 acquirers and over 110 million locations globally. Businesses in Kuwait, Qatar, Bahrain, and Oman will gain access to local and international payment methods through a single integration. “This collaboration reflects our shared ambition to reimagine digital payments in the region. By joining forces with Mastercard, we are creating a streamlined ecosystem…

Orange Money Group and Visa have announced a strategic partnership to expand online payment solutions and increase access to financial services across Africa and the Middle East. Orange Money and Visa have renewed their partnership in Botswana, Madagascar, and Jordan, where it is already active. They recently extended it to Côte d’Ivoire, launching a virtual Visa card accessible through the Max it app. The Orange Money Visa virtual card allows users to create a card instantly and fund it from their Orange Money account for secure online payments on local and international websites. Physical cards will be rolled out later…

Pakistan has signed a MoU with crypto exchange Binance. The agreement explores the “tokenisation” of up to US$2 billion in sovereign bonds, treasury bills and commodity reserves. This move is part of efforts to boost liquidity and draw investor interest, the finance ministry said. The agreement could see government‑owned real‑world assets, such as oil, gas, metals and other raw materials, converted into digital tokens on blockchain platforms. This process is aimed at improving transparency and opening markets to foreign investors. Separately, the Pakistan Virtual Assets Regulatory Authority (PVARA) said it had granted initial regulatory clearance to both Binance and digital‑asset platform HTX.…

Careem Pay has expanded its remittance service to Canada and Bangladesh, allowing residents in the UAE to send money directly to bank accounts in these countries. The platform already supports transfers to over 35 countries, including major remittance corridors such as India, Pakistan, Europe, the UK, and the Philippines. Careem Pay can complete some transfers in as little as seven seconds. Careem Plus members receive preferential rates. Customers can transfer up to AED 150,000 per transaction to Canada. Customers can transfer up to AED 450,000 per month to Canada. For Bangladesh, customers can transfer up to AED 90,000 per transaction.…

Doha Bank has listed its inaugural US$150 million Floating Rate Digitally Native Notes (DNN) on the London Stock Exchange’s International Securities Market (ISM), settling on a same-day (T+0) basis through Euroclear’s Digital Financial Market Infrastructure (D-FMI). The platform enables the issuance, distribution and settlement of fully digital international securities using distributed ledger technology (DLT). Standard Chartered acted as Sole Global Coordinator and Sole Arranger, overseeing the structuring, execution and distribution of the transaction. The issuance is among Qatar’s earliest digitally native US dollar bond deals and is designed to demonstrate real-time settlement in a regulated market environment. The transaction positions…

North Africa, comprising Algeria, Egypt, Libya, Morocco, Tunisia, and Western Sahara, is rapidly emerging as a hotspot for fintech innovation. The region is witnessing the rise of a dynamic fintech ecosystem, where startups are leveraging technology and innovative business models to improve access to financial services and transform key sectors including banking, payments, investment and lending. Several of these companies have become regional leaders, attracting large customer bases and significant investor attention. Among them, MNT-Halan stands out as one of the continent’s fintech unicorns and one of its most valuable fintech firms. Founded in 2018, MNT-Halan is a leading fintech…

PayTabs Egypt has announced a strategic partnership with Edita Trade, a subsidiary of Edita Food, a major player in Egypt’s packaged snack market. The collaboration will integrate PayTabs Egypt’s cash collection solution into Edita’s operations. It will streamline payments and cash collection between their representatives and end-point distributors. Through the partnership, Edita will have access to more than 550,000 points-of-sale (POS) machines across Egypt. This is facilitated via four leading cash aggregators. Using PayTabs Egypt’s unified platform, Edita can collect payments from distributors nationwide without managing multiple aggregators separately. The integration is expected to simplify Edita’s cash collection processes, providing…

The Abu Dhabi Investment Office (ADIO) has announced a strategic partnership with global investment firm Bain Capital to support its regional expansion, coinciding with the launch of the Fintech, Insurance, Digital and Alternative Assets (FIDA) cluster. The FIDA cluster, unveiled during Abu Dhabi Finance Week (ADFW) 2025, is designed to develop financial infrastructure in areas including fintech, alternative investments, digital assets, long-term savings, transition finance, and SME capital platforms. It is expected to contribute AED 56 billion to GDP. The initiative will create 8,000 skilled jobs and attract at least AED 17 billion in investments. Bain Capital has over 40…

noon has secured US$500 million in new funding from investors including Saudi Arabia’s sovereign wealth fund, people familiar with the matter have said. The capital comes as the company advances preparation for a potential initial public offering. Semafor reports that the Public Investment Fund (PIF) backed the fresh funding round, with noon’s founder, Dubai‑based Mohammed Alabbar, who also chairs Emaar Properties, participating. In 2016, noon launched with the PIF holding a 50% stake and Alabbar‑led regional investors owning the remainder. It operates an online marketplace, grocery delivery and food delivery services in Saudi Arabia, the UAE and Egypt. The company’s…

Qatar has announced the launch of Qai, a national AI company focused on developing digital ecosystems to support innovation and sustainable development. A subsidiary of the Qatar Investment Authority (QIA), Qai will collaborate with research institutions, policymakers and other stakeholders to advance AI solutions both in Qatar and internationally. The company will develop, operate and invest in AI infrastructure and systems, offering access to high-performance computing and tools for the responsible deployment of AI technologies across key sectors. Abdulla Al Misnad, Chairman of Qai, said: “By building the capabilities that empower governments, companies and innovators to adopt AI with confidence…

The 4th edition of the MENA Fintech Awards took place on 10 December at the ADQ Arena during Abu Dhabi Finance Week (ADFW) 2025. Organised by the MENA Fintech Association in collaboration with ADFW by Abu Dhabi Global Markets, the awards recognised companies delivering transformative solutions across AI, blockchain, mobile payments, digital lending, embedded finance, and more. The MENA Fintech Awards, the region’s flagship recognition platform, celebrate excellence, innovation, and impact in financial technology. Held annually during Abu Dhabi Finance Week, the awards honour organisations and leaders driving change in payments, banking, AI, blockchain, compliance, and digital finance, highlighting those…

Crypto.com and e& money have announced a partnership aimed at advancing the UAE crypto ecosystem through platform integrations. Under the agreement, e& money will explore the use of Crypto.com’s crypto-as-a-service solution, which allows partners to incorporate digital assets into treasury and product suites. The initial focus will be on trade execution, providing single-point access to global liquidity via Crypto.com Exchange, a leading USD-supporting cryptocurrency exchange by spot market volume. Subject to regulatory compliance, both parties may also consider custody and payment integrations. “We are continuously building towards providing consumers more ways to access and utilise cryptocurrencies in their everyday lives,”…

Zurich-based Swiss Re and RIQ have signed a MoU to develop and scale capacity solutions, risk origination opportunities, and AI-enabled capabilities in the UAE. Headquartered in the ADGM, RIQ is an AI-native reinsurance platform integrating artificial intelligence and advanced analytics to improve underwriting accuracy, capacity deployment, and investment management. RIQ was launched in June 2025 by IHC, in partnership with BlackRock and Lunate. The MoU was announced during Abu Dhabi Finance Week (ADFW) 2025. It establishes a framework for the two firms to pursue joint initiatives across capacity, risk, and technology. The collaboration extends Swiss Re’s engagement in the UAE…

Mastercard is partnering with Kee Platforms to offer embedded financing for SMEs, micro retailers, and solo entrepreneurs through Mastercard Merchant Cloud. The collaboration, which has potential to scale across the Middle East, aims to improve credit access for financially underserved businesses. Mastercard will not provide credit itself, but the embedded lending solution will allow acquiring institutions to better support smaller firms. Using precision credit scoring, the initiative will broaden access to credit and enable the delivery of real-time, contextualised products such as microloans, revolving credit, and instalment plans based on cash flow data. “We are pleased to work with Mastercard…

Julius Baer, the Swiss wealth management group, has received final approval from the Financial Services Regulatory Authority (FSRA) to open a new advisory office in the ADGM. The expansion into the UAE was announced on 24 November. The new entity, Julius Baer (Abu Dhabi), will commence operations in December 2025, serving ultra-high-net-worth individuals, family offices, and entrepreneurs seeking tailored wealth management solutions, according to Finews. “I am happy to share that Bank Julius Baer has received the final approval,” said CEO Stefan Bollinger during the Abu Dhabi Finance Week. Bollinger highlighted the generational shift among wealthy clients: “The younger generation…

The Abu Dhabi Investment Office (ADIO) and YeePay, a China-based cross-border payments company, have announced a partnership to establish YeePay’s regional headquarters and technology hub in Abu Dhabi. The new hub will serve the Middle East and Africa as part of YeePay’s global expansion. The announcement was made during Abu Dhabi Finance Week (ADFW) 2025. Under the partnership, ADIO and YeePay plan to promote initiatives aimed at strengthening cross-border digital payment links between the UAE, China and other international markets. YeePay will also join Abu Dhabi’s Fintech, Insurance, Digital and Alternative Assets (FIDA) cluster, a strategic programme led by the…

Finstreet, together with its regulated entities forming an Abu Dhabi-based financial market infrastructure group, has signed a MoU with OKX Ventures, the investment arm of the global digital asset exchange and blockchain company, OKX. The agreement will explore the availability of regulated tokenised assets in international markets, combining Finstreet’s infrastructure and the ADI Foundation’s blockchain capabilities with OKX Ventures’ network and partnership channels. The partnership represents an effort to integrate traditional finance (tradfi) with decentralised finance (defi). Under the proposed collaboration, Finstreet plans to use its ADGM-regulated infrastructure to originate and structure on-chain investment products, including traditional financial instruments. OKX…