Author: Fintechnews Middle East

The third edition of Abu Dhabi Finance Week (ADFW), hosted by ADGM, unveiled an extravagant plan of 50 events and sub-events. Under the theme ‘Welcome to the Capital of Capital’, which will run from 9th December to 12th December 2024 and will explore the multiple facets that contribute to Abu Dhabi’s position as the ‘Capital of Capital’ focussing on financial, human, cultural, environmental and technological facets of the capital. With the event line-up for this year, ADFW is ready to take it up a notch and deep dive into another set of trending global topics within the financial industry throughout…

Crypto.com has received full approval to provide payment service provider (PSP) services from the Central Bank of Bahrain through its subsidiary registered in the Kingdom of Bahrain under the commercial name “FORIS GFS BH B.S.C. CLOSED”, adding to the company’s significant regulatory milestones in the region. The PSP licence will allow Crypto.com to expand its offerings of e-money and fiat-based payment services regionally, including the launch of its world-renowned prepaid cards. “With its extensive international presence and an earned reputation for regulatory compliance, we are delighted that Crypto.com has chosen the Kingdom of Bahrain as a destination for investment, which…

Qatar Financial Centre (QFC) has activated the QFC Digital Assets Lab with twenty-four participants who have successfully cleared a meticulous screening process. This cohort will benefit from a comprehensive support system for developing, testing and commercialising their digital solutions and services. The participants will develop transformative solutions tailored to a variety of use cases across different industries. By leveraging distributed ledger technology, these innovators seek to address industry challenges and drive digital transformation in their respective sectors. Among the 24 successful candidates are ALT Realtech, Bladelabs, Polygon, and Partior. To bolster the capabilities of the Digital Assets Lab, QFC has…

The Hong Kong Monetary Authority (HKMA) and the Dubai Financial Services Authority (DFSA) have signed a MoU to deepen their strategic partnership and strengthen collaboration on sustainable finance. The agreement will facilitate cross-border dialogue, joint research, and shared efforts to address climate finance challenges. Formalised during their inaugural Joint Climate Finance Conference on 16 September in Hong Kong, this event marked the first of its kind between the two authorities. The conference, which brought together over 240 participants from financial institutions, industry associations, and international organisations, focused on the theme ‘Building a Net-Zero Asia – Middle East Corridor.’ Discussions addressed…

The financial services industry has undergone significant transformations over the past decade, largely driven by the rise of financial technology, or fintech. In wealth management, fintech innovations are reshaping how advisors and clients interact, making services more efficient, personalized, and accessible. This technological revolution is not just a trend; it’s a fundamental shift that is redefining the entire landscape of wealth management. How Fintech is Revolutionizing Wealth Management Enhanced Client Experience Fintech solutions have vastly improved the client experience in wealth management. From personalized investment portfolios to AI-driven financial advice, clients now enjoy tailored services that were once reserved for…

Abu Dhabi’s sovereign wealth fund, Mubadala, has made its first investment in global neobank Revolut, as part of a share sale that valued the company at US$45 billion. The transaction, reported to have taken place in August, involved the sale of US$500 million worth of shares by Revolut employees. Mubadala, alongside other key investors like Coatue, D1 Capital Partners, and Tiger Global, participated in the deal, according to sources cited by Financial Times. While the specific size of Mubadala’s investment remains undisclosed, Revolut’s founder and CEO, Nik Storonsky, reportedly sold US$200 million to US$300 million of his own shares during…

Hub71, Abu Dhabi’s global tech ecosystem, has welcomed 21 startups in Cohort 15, increasing the total number of ventures it supports to 243. Following a rigorous selection process, these startups will enter Hub71’s Access program and the specialist ecosystems of Hub71+ Digital Assets and Hub71+ ClimateTech. Collectively, the startups in Cohort 15 have raised USD 134.9 million in funding, which underlines Hub71’s success in attracting high-potential startups poised to drive technological innovation across the priority sectors of Abu Dhabi’s diversified economy. Cohort 15 was selected from over 1228 applications, with 17 startups founded in international markets, including the USA, United…

Paymob, an Egypt based financial services enabler, announces a $22 million Series B extension round – taking the Company’s total Series B funding to $72 million.  The funding was led by EBRD Venture Capital with participation from Endeavor Catalyst. Existing investors PayPal Ventures, BII, FMO, A15, Nclude and Helios Digital Ventures participated in the round, reaffirming their endorsement of Paymob’s business model, strategy and leadership in the regional fintech sector.  The Company remains focused on expanding its market lead in Egypt, while scaling operations in newer penetrated markets to reinforce its position as the leading payments provider in the region.…

OneDegree and Dubai Insurance Company have received approval from the Central Bank of the UAE to offer digital asset custodial risk insurance. Following this approval, both companies have begun providing custodial risk coverage to digital asset firms in the UAE. Custodial risk insurance protects against threats such as third-party hacks, internal fraud, and damage to digital asset storage. It is also required by many regulators globally, including the UAE’s Virtual Assets Regulatory Authority (VARA), which mandates this coverage along with professional indemnity and directors & officers insurance. With the introduction of custodial risk insurance under the “OneInfinity” brand, they aim…

RAKBANK has become one of the first banks in the UAE to execute a cross-border Central Bank Digital Currency (CBDC) payment using the mBridge platform. This transaction involved the instantaneous transfer of Digital Dirham against digital Chinese Yuan, marking a significant milestone in digital banking transformation. The mBridge project, launched in 2021, aims to address inefficiencies in cross-border payments. It is a collaborative effort involving the Central Bank of the UAE, the BIS Innovation Hub, the Bank of Thailand, the Digital Currency Institute of the People’s Bank of China, and the Hong Kong Monetary Authority. The platform uses distributed ledger…

The Securities and Commodities Authority (SCA) and Dubai’s Virtual Assets Regulatory Authority (VARA) have signed an agreement to enhance the UAE’s status as a global hub for virtual assets. Key officials, including SCA Chairman Mohamed Ali Al Shorafa and VARA Chairman Helal Saeed Al Marri, attended the ceremony. The agreement, signed by SCA CEO Dr. Maryam Buti Al Suwaidi and VARA CEO Matthew White, aims to attract global businesses by creating unified frameworks for the virtual assets sector. It ensures compliance with anti-money laundering regulations and boosts investor confidence. VASPs operating in Dubai must obtain a license from VARA, while…

Compliance screening is a process used by organizations to ensure adherence to legal and regulatory standards, and prevent financial crime. This practice is essential for organizations in regulated sectors such as finance, healthcare, and international trade, as it helps mitigate legal risks, financial penalties and reputation damage. In the Middle East, compliance screening is challenging due to the complex financial crime landscape, evolving financial laws, and varying levels of expertise and resources. Against this backdrop, organizations much enhance their compliance practices and leverage technology and data to improve their screening processes, a new paper by LexisNexis Risk Solutions, a global…

The Saudi Central Bank (SAMA) announces the signing of an agreement with Samsung to enable the launch of Samsung Pay in Saudi Arabia during Q4 2024. The agreement was signed at the inaugural 24 Fintech conference in Riyadh. The step is part of SAMA’s ongoing efforts to enhance the digital payments ecosystem in Saudi Arabia, aligning with the objectives of the Financial Sector Development Program (FSDP), a key initiative of Saudi Vision 2030. The Samsung Pay service aims to offer an advanced and secure payment experience, enabling users to easily store and manage their digital payment cards within the “Samsung…

The full scale of Saudi Arabia’s potential as a global hub for financial technology came to the fore on day two of the first-ever 24 Fintech in Riyadh with the announcement of a SAR800 million (US$213 million) venture capital fund to build and launch fintech companies and innovative financial solutions in the Kingdom. The closed-end investment fund, an initiative of 1957 Ventures, which is backed by Riyad Bank, was unveiled by 1957 Ventures CEO Emad Kashgari in a keynote address, underlining the firm’s commitment to fintech innovation in the Kingdom. Emphasising Saudi Arabia’s leadership in the sector, Kashgari noted the…

PayTabs Group, MENA’s payments powerhouse revealed it is set to cross SAR200 billion in payment processing volumes by 2025. This exponential growth is attributed to its payment orchestration platform, private labelling solutions and super app scaling businesses across the MENA region. This aligns with the company’s ambitious goal of achieving 200% to 400% year-on-year growth across established and emerging markets in the MENA region. PayTabs expansion plans include scaling their core payment and orchestration platform operations further in the region while working with central banks and large cards schemes this year. PayTabs orchestration platform has the ability to manage and…

OneDegree, a licensed insurer for digital assets in Asia, has partnered with Walaa Cooperative Insurance Company, one of the leading insurance and reinsurance companies in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. Walaa will support OneDegree as a reinsurer for its market-leading digital asset products globally. The strategic partnership was announced in Riyadh at 24 Fintech, the major financial technology conference. Middle East and North Africa (MENA) has emerged as an increasingly vibrant and dynamic hub for Web3. Saudi Arabia in particular has implemented various initiatives to support the growth of the Web3 sector in line with its Vision 2030 program. The…

Buy Now, Pay Later (BNPL) in India has experienced a rapid increase in adoption, with its share of e-commerce sales in Asia-Pacific (APAC) surging from just 0.1% in 2019 to an estimated 5.8% in 2023, according to GlobalData. India’s remarkable BNPL growth has been driven by its low credit card penetration and limited access to formal credit, coupled with a booming e-commerce market that has been fueling demand for BNPL services. However, recent stringent regulations imposed by the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) have significantly impacted the sector, leading many fintech companies to reassess their BNPL strategies. For example, ZestMoney,…

Ant International CEO Yang Peng shared the company’s learnings and insights into the future of financial services innovation and his vision for prosperity and inclusion in Saudi Arabia at 24 Fintech 2024 on Tuesday. Ant International fully aligned to Saudi Vision 2030 Saudi Arabia’s SME sector has witnessed remarkable growth and development in the past decade, thanks to the government’s support and the Saudi Vision 2030 initiative, with 1.27 million SMEs contributing to 28.7% GDP of Saudi Arabia in 2023. Saudi Arabia offers a unique combination of a large market, young population and strong government support, enabling the country to…

Tabby has announced it has entered into a definitive agreement to acquire Tweeq, a Saudi-based digital wallet licensed by the Saudi Central Bank (SAMA), during 24 Fintech, Saudi’s flagship fintech event. Tweeq will continue to operate independently, and through future opportunities, Tabby could explore expanding its financial products suite to include digital spending accounts, cards, and money management tools in accordance with laws and regulations. Tweeq, founded in 2020, is one of the early electronic money institutions licensed to operate in Saudi Arabia, providing an alternative to traditional banking accounts. As a fintech company, Tweeq offers a spending account that…

Saudi Central Bank (SAMA) has announced the issuance of the second release under the Open Banking Framework, focused on the Payment Initiation Service (PIS). The new release has been issued as part of SAMA’s efforts to further strengthen the Saudi Arabian Fintech ecosystem and it is anticipated that the change will enhance overall consumer experience and transaction efficiency as well as opening new opportunities for the Kingdom’s fintech sector to offer expanded products and solutions to customers. SAMA’s Open Banking Framework consists of a set of guidelines and technical standards based on international best practices to facilitate the provision of…