The Saudi Central Bank (SAMA) has announced that Tap to Pay on iPhone will soon be available in Saudi Arabia. SAMA made the announcement during the Money20/20 Middle East conference, held at the Riyadh International Convention and Exhibition Center in Malham from 14 to 16 September 2026. Once launched, merchants will be able to accept payments directly on compatible iPhones using near-field communication (NFC) technology. Customers can pay by holding a smart device or contactless card near a merchant’s iPhone. Supported payment methods include mada cards, other contactless-enabled cards, and digital wallets. The service builds on the national payments infrastructure,…

The Saudi Central Bank (SAMA) and Ant International have signed an agreement to let merchants in Saudi Arabia accept Alipay+ payments by 2026. The deal was announced at the Money20/20 Middle East conference in Riyadh. It will connect Alipay+ to mada, the Kingdom’s national payment system. The agreement supports the bank’s plan to build a stronger digital payment system in Saudi Arabia. The move ties into the Financial Sector Development Program, part of Saudi Vision 2030. SAMA said it works with payment providers to help the country rely less on cash. It does this by approving digital payment solutions that…

OCTA has raised US$3.5 million in a seed round led by Middle East Venture Partners, bringing its total funding to US$5.6 million. Wa’ed Ventures, Plug and Play and A-typical Ventures participated alongside existing investors Sukna Ventures and Sadu Capital. The company has also launched OCTA Flow, which uses AI agents to handle bookkeeping, reconciliations and month-end closing. Accountants review and approve the output before it reaches clients. More than 520 firms signed up for access within six weeks of the launch, with onboarding now underway. “The accountant is still the protagonist. They own the client relationship, they understand the context,…

Telr has partnered with payment orchestration platform MoneyHash to make its regional payment infrastructure available through the MoneyHash network. The collaboration allows merchants to use Telr’s acquiring and local payment capabilities as part of a multi-provider strategy without building separate direct integrations. MoneyHash operates a platform that connects businesses to regional and global payment providers through a single integration. By adding Telr to this network, merchants can incorporate its regulated acquiring and payment capabilities into their existing infrastructure. The companies said this approach makes it easier to introduce new payment capabilities and adapt payment operations as market requirements change. Businesses…

Emirates NBD has provided a digital revolving credit facility to Cars24 Arabia. The facility will support the used-car platform’s expansion in the UAE. Eligible dealer partners can access, use, repay and top up credit through a digital, API-driven process. The facility is part of Emirates NBD’s push into digital banking for automotive dealers and business partners in the UAE. Partners can free up working capital and keep their liquidity flexible as they scale operations, the bank said. Through the API integration, Cars24 Arabia and its dealer partners get instant loan creation, drawdown and repayment. The connection cuts processing time from…

OKX has partnered with Anghami and OSN+ to give eligible customers free six-month subscriptions to both platforms. The offer covers Anghami Plus and OSN+ across Saudi Arabia, the UAE, Egypt and the Levant. The subscription benefit is part of a wider collaboration. It spans music activations, community events and a joint series on entertainment and finance. Music sessions and watch parties tied to OSN+ releases are also planned. The companies have not yet confirmed artist line-ups, venues or dates. For OKX, the tie-up uses subscription perks to draw new users into its platform. The exchange frames this as part of…

Mastercard and Trip.com are piloting an AI agent that can search, book and pay for travel. The two companies unveiled the tool at Arabian Travel Market in Dubai this week. Payments company Network International is also part of the project. The pilot uses Mastercard’s Agent Suite for Merchants. This lets merchants build AI-driven shopping tools into their existing systems. Trip.com is using it to upgrade TripGenie, its AI travel assistant. The agent can now complete a booking, not just suggest one. This is an example of agentic commerce. An AI agent handles a purchase on a person’s behalf, with their…

Fasset will list DDSC, the UAE’s dirham-backed stablecoin, once it receives approval from Dubai’s Virtual Assets Regulatory Authority (VARA). The listing will let users swap DDSC for dollar-pegged stablecoins such as USDC and USDT. DDSC is issued through a collaboration between International Holding Company (IHC), First Abu Dhabi Bank (FAB) and Sirius International Holding. It settles on ADI Chain, an institutional layer-2 blockchain built by ADI Foundation. DDSC is pegged 1 to 1 to the UAE dirham. According to the companies, the partnership also sets the stage for joint card issuance, merchant payment acceptance and fiat on- and off-ramp infrastructure…

NEOPAY has partnered with Commercial Bank of Dubai (CBD) to help small and medium-sized enterprises access working capital financing and banking services. Eligible NEOPAY merchants can now use their transaction activity to explore financing options from CBD. NEOPAY brings its payments infrastructure and merchant network to the deal. CBD brings its banking and financing expertise. The offer covers growth, expansion and day-to-day working capital needs. Working capital keeps a business running. It covers expenses, meets commitments and funds new opportunities. Many SMEs, however, struggle to get timely financing. According to NEOPAY and CBD, using payment data gives lenders clearer visibility…

barq has closed a US$329.5 million Series A round in Saudi Arabia, becoming the country’s latest fintech unicorn. The deal values the company at US$1.85 billion. Noon Investments, Sohar International Bank and M20 Fund took part in the round. It comes about two years after barq launched its digital wallet and payments app in Saudi Arabia. barq now serves more than 15 million users from over 210 nationalities. The company has processed more than SAR 440 billion, around US$117 billion, in funds since launch. barq plans to use the new capital to expand in Saudi Arabia and enter new markets.…

Tarabut, based in Bahrain, has raised US$50 million (SAR 187 million) from a group of Saudi banks and family business groups. Backers include Riyad Bank, the X-Tech Fund run by SAB Invest, GIB Saudi Arabia and Zamil Group. Kanoo Ventures, part of the Yusuf bin Ahmed Kanoo Group, also joined, along with other regional investors. The platform operates in Saudi Arabia, the UAE and Bahrain, and has handled more than 5 billion API calls linking banks, distributors and consumers. The new funds will support verification, credit decisions and financing built directly into a partner bank’s own app, aimed at small…

barq and Mastercard are exploring new opportunities across payments and digital financial services, according to a LinkedIn post from barq. The announcement came on the sidelines of Money20/20 Middle East 2026 in Riyadh, where both companies are strategic sponsors. The collaboration builds on an existing relationship. barq and Mastercard first partnered in September 2024, when barq began using Mastercard Gateway technology to equip its merchants and consumers with payment acceptance solutions. This expanded collaboration aims to combine barq’s digital capabilities with Mastercard’s global payments expertise to develop more efficient and flexible solutions, enhance the user experience, and respond to the…

First Abu Dhabi Bank (FAB) has partnered with Mastercard to launch a new invitation-only credit card in the UAE. The FAB Royale World Legend Exclusive Mastercard targets FAB’s high-net-worth clients. It is the first World Legend Exclusive card issued in the country. The card offers advanced security features, a dedicated relationship manager, and a range of global lifestyle benefits. Cardholders receive support through the Royale Lifestyle Concierge and access to the Mastercard Premium Lifestyle Program. Other perks include meet-and-greet services at 60 destinations worldwide and access to global economic forums held with Bloomberg. The card also includes access to The…

The Central Bank of the UAE and Mastercard have completed a four-day fraud risk management training programme for CBUAE employees. 25 staff members from across the central bank took part in technical sessions and case studies delivered by Mastercard Academy at CBUAE’s Abu Dhabi headquarters. The programme is part of an ongoing collaboration between the two organisations aimed at preparing the UAE’s financial sector for risks emerging across the digital payments landscape. The curriculum spanned the payments ecosystem, digital payments, and emerging commerce models. It also addressed fraud detection and mitigation on both the card-issuing and merchant-acceptance sides of a…

Tabby, the Saudi Arabia and UAE-based fintech, has raised US$233 million at a US$6.5 billion valuation to expand beyond buy now, pay later into broader financial services. Blue Pool Capital led the round, with existing investors HSG, Wellington Management and Arbor Ventures also taking part. Tabby processes more than US$18 billion in annualised transaction volume. The company has run employee share tenders since 2023, facilitating more than US$100 million in staff share sales. The new round includes a further liquidity option for employees. In Saudi Arabia, the Saudi Central Bank has granted Tabby consumer and SME finance licences, letting it…

Fawry has linked its Business POS terminals directly to DMS’s business management software, according to a report by Zawya. The integration is aimed at medical institutions and other organisations that run their operations on DMS systems. Under the new setup, a transaction entered on a DMS terminal is passed to Fawry’s POS system automatically, removing the need for staff to key it in twice. Once the payment goes through, that status feeds back into the DMS system without anyone updating it manually. The connection also moves transaction data automatically between the two systems. This cuts down on errors that come…

QNB Syria has issued the country’s first locally issued payment card. The card is accepted internationally and runs on the Mastercard network. Customers who qualify can use it for payments at home and abroad. The card is a new step for Mastercard and QNB Group in Syria. Their partnership has moved from card acceptance to card issuance. The launch builds on earlier steps, including enabling international card acceptance in Syria and completing the country’s first transaction on an internationally issued Mastercard card in more than 15 years. That transaction ran through international point-of-sale systems. The new card’s first transaction also…

Emirates NBD has partnered with Shamal Holding to offer mortgage financing for buyers of Shamal’s off-plan homes in Dubai. Buyers can access financing once they have paid 50% of the property price. The financing continues through to handover. Emirates NBD offers buyers and investors mortgage options with early clarity on rates and a streamlined approval process. The offering also includes flexible payment support once the 50% milestone is reached. By stepping in once a buyer reaches the halfway payment point, Emirates NBD is positioning itself earlier in the buying process than a standard post-handover mortgage would allow. “The collaboration empowers…

NEOPAY and Deem Finance have partnered to give small and medium-sized UAE businesses easier access to working capital. The deal joins NEOPAY’s embedded lending platform with Deem Finance’s regulated credit licence. It uses merchants’ payment and point-of-sale data to create financing offers. Deem Finance is licensed and regulated by the Central Bank of the UAE. This lets eligible NEOPAY merchants get pre-qualified funding offers through the NEOPAY platform. There is no separate loan application. NEOPAY checks merchants’ payment history to pre-qualify them for credit. Deem Finance then reviews and approves the applications. Funds are then paid out digitally. “This collaboration…

The Hong Kong Monetary Authority (HKMA), Hong Kong Exchanges and Clearing Limited (HKEX), the Dubai Financial Services Authority (DFSA), and Nasdaq Dubai jointly announced the establishment of a Strategic Working Group. The Strategic Working Group aims to strengthen the ties between the financial markets of Hong Kong and the Dubai International Financial Centre (DIFC). The Strategic Working Group brings together exchanges and regulators in Hong Kong and DIFC to explore opportunities and develop collaborative initiatives, including sustainable finance, Islamic finance, as well as broader capital markets development. The announcement was made during the HKMA-DFSA Joint Climate Finance Conference in Hong…