Capitec has added recurring subscription payments to Capitec Pay, its account-to-account payment method, through an integration with EBANX. EBANX, a payment technology company focused on emerging markets, worked with the bank to build the recurring version of Capitec Pay, extending it into cross-border payment flows for international merchants. The integration allowed Canva to connect to a South African payment rail without building local infrastructure of its own, billing users directly from their bank accounts with no credit card required. Capitec Pay lets customers approve a recurring payment once inside the Capitec banking app. After that single authorisation, participating merchants can…

First Abu Dhabi Bank (FAB) has completed a live USD transaction with Citi using tokenised deposits on Swift’s blockchain-based ledger. The bilateral transaction tested how existing Swift payment messaging can work with tokenised deposits to support 24/7 cross-border payments. According to FAB, it is the first bank in the Middle East and Africa to reach this milestone. The transaction forms part of Swift’s Ledger minimum viable product (MVP), a shared platform designed to reduce fragmentation across the tokenised money networks. Tokenised deposits, digital representations of money that stay on a bank’s own balance sheet, remained with each participating bank throughout…

Qatar Central Bank partners with Samsung Gulf Electronics to bring Himyan, the country’s national payment scheme into Samsung Wallet. Eligible Himyan debit and prepaid cardholders can now tap to pay from a compatible Galaxy phone or smartwatch, without carrying a physical card. Himyan is Qatar’s first national payment card brand, built to support secure, efficient and locally managed digital transactions. The integration forms part of the Third Financial Sector Strategy and the Third National Development Strategy 2024-2030. Cardholders can add an eligible Himyan card to Samsung Wallet on a supported Galaxy device and complete a verification step with their card-issuing…

Amazon Web Services (AWS) confirmed at LEAP in Riyadh that its first Cloud Infrastructure Region in Saudi Arabia remains on track to launch in December 2026. First announced in March 2024, the Region represents an investment of more than US$5.3 billion and will expand AWS’s global infrastructure to 40 Regions worldwide, according to Amazon’s own newsroom. AWS also expanded its partnership with HUMAIN, a Public Investment Fund-owned company, committing up to 50 megawatts of capacity in Saudi Arabia’s first AI Zone by 2028. The AI Zone will run on AWS’s Trainium chips alongside NVIDIA infrastructure for AI training and inference…

Sheikh Tahnoon bin Zayed al Nahyan of Abu Dhabi and co-investors hold the largest stake in the holding company behind a new US bank. The Trump family’s cryptocurrency venture is preparing to launch that bank. The stake stands at 49%, according to The Wall Street Journal, citing people familiar with the matter. Tahnoon serves as the UAE’s national security adviser and is the brother to the country’s president. The US Office of the Comptroller of the Currency recently granted preliminary approval for World Liberty Financial to launch a national trust bank. The bank will issue, redeem and safeguard USD1, its…

Airwallex is investing $43 million in the UAE over the next five years, according to a statement carried by PRLog. The global payments platform is funding new financial products and senior hires in Dubai as part of a wider push across the UK, Europe, the Middle East and Africa. The first phase is already underway. Airwallex has expanded its Dubai office and made several senior hires this year, drawing on local and international talent based in the UAE. The investment builds on In-Principle Approval Airwallex has secured from the Central Bank of the UAE for Stored Value Facilities and Retail…

Oro, a Dubai-based financial AI platform, has closed a US$3 million strategic funding round, bringing its total capital raised to US$4 million. MH Ventures and Mapleblock Capital co-led the round, with participation from M2M Capital, Archer Capital and X21 Digital, alongside follow-on backing from existing investors Disrupt.com and ZIGLabs. “We are witnessing a monumental shift toward intent-based execution,” said Varun Choudhary, Co-Founder and CEO of Oro. “This funding round proves that real, sustainable product-market fit backed by hundreds of thousands of active users will always attract top-tier institutional capital.” Founded in December 2024 by Choudhary, Oro lets users describe their…

Mashreq has appointed Jayant Bhatia as Global Head of NEO, its digital banking segment within the Retail Banking Group, according to a LinkedIn post from Mashreq. Bhatia brings more than two decades of experience in banking, digital innovation and business transformation, and will lead NEO’s next phase of growth. In the role, Bhatia will shape a strategy aimed at accelerating digital innovation, deepening customer engagement and expanding NEO’s presence in existing markets, as well as extending its footprint into new geographies. Bhatia most recently served as Chief Product Officer at Mox Bank, a Hong Kong-based virtual bank, and previously held…

BNP Paribas has received a regional headquarters licence in Saudi Arabia, Saudi state news agency SPA reported, as France’s biggest bank joins other international companies expanding their presence in the kingdom. Saudi Arabia’s investment minister, Fahd bin Abduljalil al-Saif, and BNP Chairman Jean Lemierre announced the licence during a meeting in Paris. Saudi Arabia has pushed multinational companies to relocate their regional headquarters to Riyadh in recent years as part of efforts to position the capital as a leading financial hub in the Gulf, alongside Dubai and Abu Dhabi in the neighbouring UAE. The government has said companies without a…

Abu Dhabi Islamic Bank (ADIB) has appointed Pedro Uria-Recio as Chief AI Officer, strengthening its leadership as it advances its Vision 2035 strategy. In the role, Uria-Recio will lead the next phase of ADIB’s AI strategy, working to enhance customer experiences, strengthen risk management and improve operational efficiency across the bank. His mandate also covers building the capabilities, governance and infrastructure needed to scale AI responsibly across the group, as ADIB works toward its Vision 2035 goal of becoming the world’s most innovative Islamic bank. Uria-Recio brings more than 20 years of experience across technology, data and AI. He joins…

Saudi Arabia is emerging as a fintech leader in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA), nurturing a significant number of the region’s fintech champions. A recent study by Agrippa and Company, a Paris-based strategic advisory firm specializing in the European and the Middle Eastern regions, reveals that out of the 20 most valuable fintech companies in MENA, 11 are headquartered in Saudi Arabia. This demonstrates how Saudi Arabia is drawing in and developing top-tier fintech talent across the region. 11 Fintech Champions of Saudi Arabia: These companies are: Tabby, a buy now, pay later (BNPL) company originally founded in…

Binance has introduced Agent OS, a developer platform connecting AI applications to its trading, market data, wallet, payment and on-chain tools. Developers can use it to build agents that trade and manage accounts on a user’s behalf, either through ready-made integrations or their own AI applications. Users can authorise agents built on tools like ChatGPT, Claude Code, Codex and Cursor to access market data, view account information and place trades, within permissions they configure themselves. Each agent can be assigned to a dedicated subaccount, keeping its activity separate from the user’s main account and off-limits to non-trading data such as…

Commercial International Bank – Egypt (CIB) has received preliminary approval from the Central Bank of Egypt to establish yomo, a digital bank operating under Egypt’s digital banking framework introduced in 2023. The approval lets yomo move into its next phase of operational, technological and customer readiness ahead of launch, which remains subject to further regulatory approval. CIB has invested US$300 million into yomo, according to Arab Finance’s reporting on CIB’s disclosure. The bank set up yomo’s holding company in Abu Dhabi for regulatory and tax reasons and based the newly licensed operating company in Cairo, CIB Group Chief Executive Hisham…

TerraPay has entered a collaboration with Deutsche Bank to strengthen TerraPay and its settlement infrastructure and improve the efficiency, speed and reliability of its cross-border payments, particularly for USD settlement. This partnership also gives the global money movement company access to the bank’s correspondent banking network, payments capabilities and foreign exchange services. “The future of cross-border payments will be built through collaboration between global financial institutions and purpose-built fintech infrastructure,” said Ambar Sur, Founder and CEO of TerraPay. He added that the relationship with Deutsche Bank brings together the strength of one of the world’s leading banks with TerraPay’s global…

First Abu Dhabi Bank (FAB) has launched Send Now Pay Later (SNPL) through its digital financial platform Payit, giving eligible customers a way to send money internationally straight away and repay it later. The feature lets customers complete an international transfer immediately, then settle the amount within 30 days. SNPL carries a revolving credit limit of up to AED 5,000, according to Payit’s own site. Customers check their eligibility and approved limit within the Payit app before completing a transfer, using the same remittance journey they already use for regular transfers. Payit designed SNPL to address short-term cash-flow gaps, such…

Arbeat Group FZE has received a Full Virtual Asset Service Provider (VASP) Licence from Dubai’s Virtual Assets Regulatory Authority (VARA). The licence, reference VL/26/07/001, authorises Arbeat to operate Exchange Services and Broker-Dealer Services, and was issued on 23 June 2026, according to VARA’s public register. The licence permits Arbeat to serve institutional, qualified and retail investors. Arbeat first received an In-Principle Approval from VARA in January 2026 covering the same two activities. An IPA is a conditional stage in VARA’s licensing process, and firms holding one cannot operate or serve clients until they secure a full licence. Arbeat describes itself…

National Bank of Fujairah (NBF) has signed a Memorandum of Understanding with Numou, a UAE-based digital financing marketplace and subsidiary of ADGM. The partnership aims to connect SMEs across the UAE with tailored financing solutions, covering areas such as account opening, guarantees, working capital, invoice financing and trade finance. SMEs account for 94% of all businesses operating in the UAE, and their financing needs continue to evolve as they scale, diversify and enter new markets. Through the partnership, NBF and Numou aim to help SMEs identify financing options aligned with their stage of growth, working capital requirements and long-term business…

The Central Bank of the UAE (CBUAE) issued its Financial Stability Report 2025. The report points to a resilient banking system alongside continued progress on the country’s digital payment infrastructure. It credited the UAE’s positive economic performance and the banking sector’s robust capitalisation, liquidity, and profitability for the overall stability picture. UAE banking system assets grew 17.1% to AED 5.3 trillion by the end of 2025. The loan portfolio expanded 17.8%, driven mainly by domestic lending across retail and private corporate segments. Asset quality also improved. The non-performing loan ratio fell to 3.3% in 2025, down from 4.7% in 2024…

Telr has announced a strategic partnership with Jet, a Jordanian quick-commerce platform for groceries and everyday essentials. The deal aims to strengthen the payments infrastructure behind Jordan’s fast-growing digital commerce sector. Under the agreement, Telr will power Jet’s payment ecosystem with its payment platform. This supports secure and scalable payment acceptance across Jet’s digital channels. The partnership aims to support Jet’s continued expansion while maintaining fast, reliable payment processing as the platform scales. Jet, founded and operated by a Jordanian team based in Amman, owns its own inventory and manages fulfilment directly. It delivers groceries and everyday products within minutes.…

First Abu Dhabi Bank (FAB) has launched a new salary transfer offer that pays customers up to AED 9,000 a year in cashback. The reward isn’t just for transferring a salary to FAB. It depends on what customers do with that money afterwards. The cashback equals 20% of one month’s salary. FAB pays it out in monthly instalments over 12 months, running until 31 December 2026. The offer is open to customers who transfer a minimum monthly salary of AED 5,000 to FAB. Customers can earn up to AED 750 a month, adding up to AED 9,000 over a year.…