In Israel, the fintech industry is playing an increasingly important role in the country’s economy. In 2021, the sector employed 20,000 people in Israel and contributed about ILS 8.2 billion (US$2.2 billion) to the country’s gross domestic product (GDP), figures that showcase the rising significance of fintech on economic growth, a new report by the Israel Securities Authority, says. The Israel’s Fintech Industry: A Customer and Market Perspective Analysis report, released last month, reveals that the impact of fintech development has been greater in Israel than in other jurisdictions. In 2021, fintech contributed to 0.5% of Israel’s total GDP, a…

In the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region, Bahrain is the undeniable leader when it comes to open banking, a position the country earned thanks to its financial regulator’s proactiveness in introducing formal regulations and implementing technical standards. Now, with this solid foundation in place, Bahrain is heading towards open finance, a new report by German open banking startup Tesobe says. 2022 was a significant year for open banking development in Bahrain, which saw the Central Bank of Bahrain (CBB) focus on transitioning towards the broader open finance movement, the report notes. The ambition here was to allow third…

areeba sal, a leading payment processing service provider in the Middle East is strengthening its partnership with the Swiss payment expert, Netcetera. This partnership started in 2020 with the implementation of the latest 3-D Secure protocol, supported by Netcetera’s Access Control Server (ACS). In cooperation with Netcetera, areeba introduces Out-of-Band authentication (OOB) with biometric reading (fingerprint scan or face recognition) as the most convenient method for its customers and their cardholders to do secure and flawlessly e-commerce transactions. This enables areeba to provide its issuers’ customers (banks and fintechs) with innovative authentication experience through their mobile apps to create tailored…

Mastercard has collaborated with Google to launch Google Pay in Kuwait, strengthening digital payment capabilities in the country. Cardholders can tap to pay with their Android phones or supported Wear OS devices in stores where contactless is in operation. They can also use Google Pay to make payments online and through apps. A seamless way to transact, Google Pay saves customers from handing over their payment cards, touching physical buttons, or exchanging cash. Security and privacy are built into every aspect to ensure data is protected. Transactions are made with a virtual card number, so Google Pay does not share…

Remitly Global announced it has expanded into the Middle East with the launch of its outbound remittance product in the UAE. Remitly has also opened an office in the Dubai International Financial Center (DIFC), its first in the country. The company’s new presence in the UAE marks its 30th send country, contributing to its more than 4,300 corridors overall. The remittance sector in the UAE is strong, with immigrants comprising nearly 90 percent of the country’s population. With the vast majority of remittance transactions completed through cash pay-in at brick-and-mortar stalls, Remitly’s expansion into the UAE brings a welcomed solution…

The government of Dubai has released its Virtual Assets and Related Activities Regulations 2023, a new set of rules targeting digital asset activities. The regulations are part of an ongoing effort to establish the emirate as a world leading hub in blockchain technology and virtual assets. Issued on February 07, 2023, the framework is designed to offer regulatory certainty and falls under Dubai’s D33 Economic Plan, which has set out for the emirate to become “the capital of the future economy anchored by the metaverse, artificial intelligence (AI), Web3.0 and blockchain,” said Helal Saeed Almarri, director general of Dubai’s Department…

Halo Investing, a global Wealthtech headquartered in Chicago announced that it has secured its Financial Services Permission (“FSP”) from Abu Dhabi Global Market (“ADGM”)’s Financial Services Regulatory Authority (“FSRA”) effective 19 January 2023. Halo Investing secured 100m USD investment back in October 2021 and planned to come to the UAE since that announcement. Halo Investing plans to leverage the ADGM’s status as a global innovation hub to conduct regulated activities in the region. The dedicated office and expanded regional presence will help drive the growth of Halo Investing’s international footprint in the protective investing landscape. The Abu Dhabi team will pursue…

Dubai International Financial Centre (DIFC) proposes to enact new Venture Studio Regulations to establish the first global legal framework for the regulation of venture building. The proposed regulations seek to enable, enhance and promote venture building from within DIFC. Venture Studio Regulations In April 2022, DIFC announced the launch of the first global “Venture Studio Launchpad” to assist with the growth of DIFC’s financial ecosystem. In particular, DIFC aims to be a growth partner and business enabler to venture builder studios, allowing them to set up and scale from the Centre. In doing so, DIFC also further supports entrepreneurs and…

Abu Dhabi Global Market (ADGM)and Zand Bank PJSC, the UAE’s first all-digital bank licensed by the UAE Central Bank, have signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) to support UAE Technology SMEs and provide preferential banking services. The agreement will focus on providing preferential banking services including efficient bank account opening for ADGM-licensed entities, including SMEs, virtual assets companies, funds, and corporations. The collaboration aims to empower the ADGM community and SMEs incorporated in ADGM by offering a curated value proposition for those, including access to SMEsouk, Zand’s digital platform for SMEs. ADGM and Zand Bank will work together on developing…

Arabian Business, a weekly business magazine published in Dubai and focusing on global and regional news analysis, has released its ranking of top 100 most powerful people in the emirate, recognizing these personalities for being the most inspirational and influential figures among Dubai’s elite. Of the 100 people who made it into the ranking, eight are fintech, crypto and banking leaders. These personalities are fintech experts and digital innovators who have led successful digital finance projects. Arif Amiri, CEO, DIFC Authority Arif Amiri is the CEO of DIFC Authority, the agency responsible for overseeing the strategic development, operational management and…

DLA Piper has worked with the Dubai Virtual Assets Regulatory Authority (VARA), as its exclusive global legal advisor, on the creation of the Emirate’s virtual asset specific regulatory framework. Published on 7 February 2023, the Virtual Assets and Related Activities Regulations 2023 aim to further VARA’s objectives of fostering a vibrant virtual assets ecosystem, promoting innovation, and driving economic growth in the Emirate of Dubai whilst ensuring responsible market participation and consumer protection. In the formulation of these regulations, VARA saw a global team of DLA Piper lawyers from Dubai, Hong Kong, London and Washington, DC leverage their regulatory expertise…

AI use is on the rise, which poses a risk to the existence of many jobs across regions. Recently the ChatGPT bot was made available to the public – it can maintain a coherent conversation, explain complex scientific concepts, artistically translate texts between languages, and much more. Other types of robots have been among people for years, washing cars, delivering orders, sorting goods in warehouses, delivering pills to patients, and doing assembly works at plants. According to Kaspersky research, there are concerns among employees in the UAE in regards to robots and automation systems used by companies. Half (50%) of…

Hub71, Abu Dhabi’s global tech ecosystem, announced the launch of Hub71+ Digital Assets, a dedicated Web3 specialist ecosystem, with more than $2 billion of capital committed to fund Web3 startups and blockchain technologies from the UAE’s capital. Hub71+ is a specialist ecosystem dedicated to advancing specific technology sectors. The first Hub71+ to launch is ‘Hub71+ Digital Assets’ – focused on unleashing the disruptive potential of Web3 and the growth of digital assets. Web3 describes the evolution of the internet into a decentralized online space increasingly built on innovations such as blockchain technology and metaverse applications. Web3 startups, from seed to…

Emirates Islamic has launched a global Fintech accelerator campaign in collaboration with Plug and Play Abu Dhabi. The campaign is a call to action for leading Islamic Fintechs and financial startups with propositions that can enhance customer journeys across SME financing, trade finance and financial well-being. This builds on Plug and Play Abu Dhabi’s partnership with the banking Group. Earlier last year, Emirates NBD had partnered with the platform to boost its open innovation ecosystem globally. In recent years, Islamic finance has grown rapidly in both its role in ethical financial empowerment and in terms of global financial market share,…

Savii, a financial platform designed for teens and young adults, today announced their official product launch in the UAE. The Savii banking app and Visa prepaid card allow teenagers and young adults to make payments independently and relieve parents of the anxiety of giving them premature access to their own credit card. Jane Harvey, Co-founder and CEO of Savii commented “If you are a parent, giving your teens some financial responsibility early on is a smart move. They’ll get to flex their money management skills, like budgeting and saving, learn the value of a dirham and begin to appreciate the…

The Central Bank of the UAE (CBUAE) launched yesterday it’s Financial Infrastructure Transformation Programme to accelerate the digital transformation in the financial services sector as part of a wider strategy aimed at enabling the CBUAE to be among the top central banks globally. The FIT Programme aims to support financial services sector, promote digital transactions, and enable the UAE’s competitiveness to become the financial and digital payment hub and a centre of excellence for innovation and digital transformation through encouraging innovation and collaboration as well as competition in the financial sector. The programme comprises implementation of nine key initiatives. The…

Nigerian payments company Flutterwave announced that it has received its Payment Services Provider and Payments Facilitator licenses in Egypt. This will enable Flutterwave to collect payments on behalf of its customers and settle payments locally and globally. The company will now be able to deploy Flutterwave for Business suite of products including store, payment links, invoices, checkout in Egypt. Flutterwave facilitates cross-border transactions in multiple currencies for global companies, including Uber, and the new licenses will help the company support international businesses entering the Egyptian market or growing their operations in the country. Aalaa Gamal, Regional Manager, North Africa in…

The UAE has over the last five years or so become home to a growing range of innovative tech companies in a wide variety of sectors, including fintech. This has been the result of a very deliberate policy of the UAE government to turn the country into a global tech hub, creating an advantageous environment for entrepreneurs while also capitalizing on the country’s strategic location as an access point to the Middle East. A further key to the country’s development as a leading global tech development center has been the signing of the Abraham Accords in September 2020. The unprecedented…

Egyptian fintech MNT-Halan announced that it has raised up to US$400 million in equity and debt financing, pushing its valuation to over US$1 billion. The funds came from Chimera Abu Dhabi which has invested more than US$200 million in equity in exchange for over 20% of the company. Additionally, MNT-Halan said that it is in advanced stages with other unnamed international investors to raise US$60 million of primary capital. This follows a US$120 million investment in Q3 2021 by other major global and regional growth investors, including Development Partners International (DPI), Apis Growth Fund II, and Lorax Capital Partners. The…

Buy Now, Pay Later (BNPL) is booming – some experts predict it could grow by up to 400% in the next few years. BNPL products have gone from interesting new option to a household staple in recent years. And, like any emerging market, the products and the regulations that govern providers are evolving quickly. As BNPL providers take bigger and bigger bites out of the US$8 trillion credit card industry, both credit card providers and innovative startups are taking notice. To compete and thrive, BNPL providers need technology that doesn’t just get them to market quickly, but that also prepares…