Physical, in-person events are back in full force this year as governments around the world ease up social distancing and traveling rules. As Dubai continues to see its fintech landscape grow and thrive, organizers are increasingly choosing the city to host fintech conferences and events. For this list, we’ve chosen 11 of the biggest in-person fintech events taking place in Dubai in H1 2022. DIFC AI Festival February 21-23, 2022 Open Stage, DIFC Innovation Hub (inside Gate Avenue) The Dubai International Financial Centre (DIFC), a special economic zone and fintech hub, is hosting the DIFC AI Festival between February 21…

The tech revolution is alive and well in the UAE with more than 90% of the population using digital banking. That means millions of people across the nation are using smartphones and mobile banking apps to open new accounts and make their banking transactions in minutes, shop through e-commerce channels, and make and receive payments. Forward-thinking leaders and tech-savvy residents are keeping banks and other institutions in the region on their toes, demanding more from banking apps, and seeking out benefits that make going digital even more rewarding. Read on to find out how to squeeze the best benefits from…

Home to more than 800 fintech companies, Israel is today considered a powerhouse in the global fintech scene, having minted some of the world’s most notable startups including online broker eToro, paytech startup Rapyd, and insurtech provider Lemonade. In 2021, fintech continued to be investors’ favored industry, accounting for 70% of all vertical capital volume, a new report by IVC, a local high-tech startup research institution, and Meitar, the largest law firm in Israel, says. In 2022, the momentum is expected to continue as the Israel Securities Authority starts granting licenses for fintech companies to operate in Israel, a major…

Pyypl (pronounced “People”), announces it has closed a US$ 11 million series A financing round with participation from a diverse group of international family offices and HNWI’s. The international blockchain technology-based company provides digital payments and financial services for smartphone users to carry out online transactions, without the need for a bank account or credit card. Backed by a diverse group of investors from Europe, North America, Asia, and the Middle East – the funding round was oversubscribed. This follows significant investment in previous rounds from Global Ventures, an UAE-based, international venture capital firm. The proceeds will enable Pyypl to…

As the world emerges from a pandemic which has seen both market dynamics and consumer behaviours change, CR2, along with senior banking leaders and market influencers, tease out some off the key trends that they feel will impact and shape banks of the future. The report, ‘The Bank of the Future’ looks at the post-pandemic challenges and opportunities for banks in Africa, the Middle East and Asia and hears from thought leaders Daniel Awe (Innovation Leader and Head of African Fintech Foundry Access Bank, Nigeria); James Koni (Seasoned Banking Leader and CEO); Fintan Byrne (CEO of Market-leading Digital Banking and…

Accenture has been selected by the Central Bank of the UAE (CBUAE) to lead a consortium of companies to help execute its National Payment Systems Strategy. In collaboration with SIA, now part of Nexi Group, and G42, Accenture will build and operate the National Instant Payment Platform (IPP) over the next five years. The new platform lays the groundwork for transforming the financial services ecosystem in the UAE. It represents the beginning for the next generation of payment services in the region, enabling safe, innovative, and convenient electronic payments in the country. IPP is the first significant milestone of the…

In the United Arab Emirates (UAE), digital payments and cashless transactions are becoming the new norm as both consumers and small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) continue to actively embrace these solutions. A new research study by Visa found that compared to global averages, UAE SMEs and consumers are showing a higher level of willingness to embrace cashless payment solutions. 52% of surveyed consumers in the country, against 41% globally, plan to be cashless by 2024 or are already cashless. Nearly all respondents (99%) indicated seeing benefits of a cashless society. To meet customers’ expectations, 71% of surveyed SMEs in the…

CR2’s latest market insight report, ‘Adopt an Agile Digital Banking Platform’ has been written in collaboration with Stessa Cohen, an internationally recognised expert on the digital transformation of the global banking industry. In the report, Stessa identifies how bankers must have an agile digital banking platform to support global and local trends and requirements, helping them to identify new niche markets that will drive innovation, create new value and increase profitability. The report identifies a set of capabilities that a digital banking platform must have that will help take banks into a competitive future and urges banks to select a…

Personetics, a provider of data-driven personalization solutions, announced it has raised US$85 million from software investment firm Thoma Bravo. The firm will be partnering with Thoma Bravo to leverage the latter’s operational expertise in software and financial technology. The funds will be used to help accelerate Personetics’s momentum, the introduction of new products and technology, and the platform‘s reach to financial institutions and their customers across the globe. Personetics had previously secured a total funding of over US$160 million from Viola Ventures, Lightspeed Ventures, Sequoia Capital, Nyca Partners and Warburg Pincus last year. The company’s AI-based engagement platform is focused…

Bahrain based crypto exchange Rain Financial has raised USD 110 million in Series B funding, the company announced this week. The round was co-led by Paradigm and Kleiner Perkins with participation from numerous parties including Coinbase Ventures, Global Founders Capital, MEVP, Cadenza Ventures, and CMT Digital. Founded in 2017 by Abdullah Almoaiqel, AJ Nelson, Joseph Dallago, and Yehia Badawy, Rain will utilize this investment to expand across other countries and regions, enhancing its technology with an advanced trading platform and continuing to grow the team as cryptocurrency adoption continues to increase globally. In a joint statement, the co-founding team said:…

Forbes Middle East has released its annual ranking of the Top 50 Most-Funded Startups in the Middle East and North African (MENA) region. Out of these 50 companies, 14 are fintech firms, making the sector the most represented one across all tech sectors. Combined, these 14 fintech companies had raised a total of US$611.1 million, as of December 2021. Looking at the geographic repartition, the United Arab Emirates (UAE) was the most represented country with seven fintech companies. The UAE is followed by Saudi Arabia with three companies, Egypt with two companies, and Bahrain and Tunisia, each with one company.…

Binance has received in-principle approval from the Central Bank of Bahrain (CBB) to establish itself as a crypto-asset service provider in the Kingdom of Bahrain. The in-principle approval comes after Binance applied for a license from the CBB as part of its plans to become a fully-regulated centralized cryptocurrency exchange. Changpeng Zhao (CZ), founder and CEO of Binance, said: “Recognition and approval from national regulators, such as the Central Bank of Bahrain, is essential to build trust in crypto and blockchain and help further improve mass adoption. The CBB has been a progressive pioneer in developing a robust crypto-asset framework…

Bahrain has emerged as a key destination for fintech initiatives in the MENA region, and fintech companies in Bahrain are leveraging this to their success. Bahrain has been especially progressive from the standpoint of open banking and digital currencies. For instance, it was the earliest in the Middle East to launch an open banking-led initiative, the Bahrain Open Banking Framework. The framework was launched in 2020. The country also has plans to introduce a digital currency settlement pilot in partnership with JP Morgan and Bank ABC. The initiative looks to enable real time cross border payments via digital currency, and…

Fintech News Middle East would like to take this opportunity to wish all our readers a Merry Christmas and a very Happy New Year. We will be taking a break from the 23rd December 2021 to the 2nd January 2022. Until then, you can access some of our year-end articles that may be of interest to you. We look forward to seeing you all again on the 3rd January 2021! https://fintechnews.ae/11425/fintechdubai/dubais-dwtc-to-start-regulating-crypto-and-virtual-assets/ https://fintechnews.ae/11384/fintech/these-4-startups-are-powering-open-banking-in-the-middle-east/ https://fintechnews.ae/11152/fintechdubai/top-payment-and-ecommerce-trends-in-the-middle-east/ https://fintechnews.ae/11343/fintechdubai/crypto-exchange-binance-could-soon-set-up-a-global-headquarters-in-dubai/ https://fintechnews.ae/11223/fintech/6-biggest-fintech-funding-rounds-in-the-middle-east-in-2021/ https://fintechnews.ae/11063/fintech/7-middle-east-crypto-exchanges-that-support-local-currencies/ https://fintechnews.ae/10990/fintechisrael/8-israeli-fintech-unicorns-to-keep-an-eye-on/ https://fintechnews.ae/10790/fintech/fintech-startup-founders-in-the-middle-east/ https://fintechnews.ae/10734/abudhabi/5-fastest-growing-fintech-companies-in-the-uae-2021/ https://fintechnews.ae/10731/oman/oman-jumps-on-open-banking-bandwagon/

Saudi Arabia-based Arab National Bank has signed on US-based open source solutions provider Red Hat, Inc., for the latter’s open hybrid cloud technologies. Arab National Bank will be looking to boost its capabilities in digital banking, open finance and customer engagement using Red Hat’s platforms, a statement from Red Hat said. The bank is looking to build cloud-native applications and Banking-as-a-Service (BaaS) offerings using APIs and a micro services-based integration layer from Red Hat. Arab National Bank has the Kubernetes container platform Red Hat OpenShift deployed on its private cloud infrastructure, with several micro services-based applications running in production. The…

The Dubai World Trade Centre (DWTC) has announced that it will be working as a comprehensive zone and regulator for virtual assets and crypto, including digital assets, products, operators and exchanges. The DWTC will be designing a comprehensive ecosystem for the sector within Dubai, including a regulatory framework for virtual asset legislative and enforcement policies, a statement from the authority said. It will be collaborating with the private sector and other Dubai-based entities to create an “attractive environment” for the sector, and also put in place standards for investor protection, Anti Money Laundering (AML), Combating the Financing of Terrorism (CFT)…

Global payment gateway solutions provider Checkout.com saw “record-breaking payment processing growth” this year. Checkout.com posted an increase of nearly 75% year-over-year in payment processing volumes for the region in December this year, according to a statement by the company. The growth was driven by surging demand seen by the local and international merchant clients of Checkout.com. “It has been a step-change year for us across the MENA region, all driven by the partnerships we’ve put in place with our merchants over the past decade. We’ve opened offices in KSA and Pakistan, expanded our regional team to 90 people, and…

Saudi Arabia startups raised US$205 million across 34 deals in Q3, their best ever quarter in terms of funding, according to a new report. VC funding for Saudi Arabia startups grew over 4x in the quarter, compared to the same period last year. This is according to the Q3 KSA Venture Investment Report by Magnet and the Saudi Venture Capital Company. Total VC funding in Saudi Arabia reached US$376 million year-to-date so far, more than twice the annual amount raised in 2020. The number of deals also surged by 5x during Q3 this year versus the same quarter last year,…

Issuer processors Paymentology and Tutuka announced that both entities are merging to create a new payments and card processing powerhouse. Operating under the Paymentology name, the merger creates a new force in payment solutions which gives banks and fintechs the technology, team and experience to issue and process Mastercard, Visa and UnionPay cards across 49 countries. The move brings together the ultra-advanced, multi-cloud platform of Paymentology with the global reach and experience of Tutuka. The merger creates a powerhouse of over 270 payments and technology experts, working across both developed and emerging markets, serving customers in 49 countries, across 14…

Abu Dhabi’s sovereign wealth fund Mubadala has made investments in the crypto ecosystem amidst its growing value, Reuters reported. “This is a business that had, what $200 billion worth of crypto value two years ago, and it’s two and a half trillion dollars today and growing,” the report cited Mubadala CEO Khaldoon Al Mubarak as saying. Al Mubarak added that while many people remained sceptical about crypto as an investment, “I don’t fall in that category.” Without disclosing how much the fund expects to plough into crypto investment, Al Mubarak noted that Mubadala was investing in crypto-related infrastructure, such as…