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…
Author: Fintechnews Middle East
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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…
Qatar Financial Centre Authority (QFCA) and Qatar Financial Centre Regulatory Authority (QFCRA) have announced the launch of the QFC Digital Assets Framework, a new regime for the creation and regulation of digital assets in the QFC. The development of the framework is one of the important goals established by the Third Financial Sector Strategic Plan. The QFC Digital Assets Framework 2024 establishes the legal and regulatory foundation for digital assets, including the process of tokenization, legal recognition of property rights in tokens and their underlying assets, custody arrangements, transfer, and exchange. The framework also provides for the legal recognition of…
In H1 2024, the Abu Dhabi Global Market (ADGM), an international financial center located in Abu Dhabi, witnessed significant growth and progress. During the period, ADGM issued more than 1,200 new licenses, marking a 20.5% increase compared to the same period in 2023. This growth in licenses was accompanied by a substantial increase in the workforce, with over 2,500 new employees joining the financial hub. A portion of this growth was driven by the fintech sector, where companies are utilizing cutting-edge technologies and innovative business models to tackle challenges in lending, banking, and business finance. These fintech firms are playing…
Dubai AI Campus, the largest dedicated cluster of AI companies in the region at the DIFC Innovation Hub, and Google Cloud announced a collaboration agreement aimed at fostering the growth of the startup ecosystem within the Dubai AI Campus. The collaboration seeks to leverage Google Cloud’s expertise and resources to empower startups in the region and accelerate their expansion. The Dubai AI Campus is a dedicated ecosystem for AI and Web3 innovation providing state-of-the-art physical and digital infrastructure at the heart of Dubai International Financial Centre. The Campus includes R&D facilities, accelerator programmes and collaborative workspaces, to attract, build and…
Crypto.com announced the launch of global retail services, including the ability to provide seamless deposit and withdrawal facilities for millions of retail users of the Crypto.com App from over 90 countries. Crypto.com’s global retail services will be offered to users around the world through the company’s regional hub in Dubai. This expansion is powered by Standard Chartered and the regulatory framework established by Dubai’s Virtual Assets Regulatory Authority (VARA). The launch starts with customers across the UAE who, from today, can access Crypto.com’s retail products and services via the Crypto.com App, including the ability to buy, sell and trade more…
Fintech in Pakistan is growing rapidly, driven by increasing Internet and mobile phone penetration. According to Irfan Iqbal Sheikh, the head of the Federation of Pakistan Chambers of Commerce and Industry, the country currently boasts around 269 startups. The State Bank of Pakistan anticipates that the market potential for digital finance services in Pakistan will surpass US$36 billion by 2024, a growth trajectory poised to boost the country’s gross domestic product (GDP) by 7% and create 4 million new jobs. In this dynamic ecosystem, several fintech ventures have emerged as category leaders, recording substantial growth and garnering investor attention. Today,…
The Financial Services Regulatory Authority (FSRA) of Abu Dhabi Global Market (ADGM) has published Consultation Paper No. 7 of 2024 containing proposals to enhance its regulatory framework to allow the issuance of Fiat-Referenced Tokens (FRTs) from the ADGM and invites public feedback and comments on the proposals. FRTs are a category of stablecoins that are backed by high-quality, liquid assets denominated in the same currency as the FRT and that can be liquidated rapidly with minimal adverse price effect. FRTs are intended to be used as a means of payment and share certain characteristics with Stored Value. Since the introduction of…
In H1 2024, fintech funding in Saudi Arabia reached US$62 million, representing a staggering 360% increase compared to the same period last year, a new report by Magnitt and SVC reveals. This significant boost came through nine funding rounds, supporting startups in the verticals of wealthtech, payments and alternative financing, among others. In this article, we look at some of the largest funding rounds secured by Saudi fintech startups in H1 2024, examining their value propositions, recent successes, and growth strategies. Moyasar – US$21 million Moyasar, a digital payment startup, secured US$21 million in a seed funding round in March.…
The United Arab Emirates (UAE) has fostered a thriving fintech sector through a combination of supportive regulations, a buoyant domestic economy, and growing appetite for advanced digital financial services. As a result, the country now hosts the greatest number of fintech startups in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region. In 2023, these companies managed to secure US$128.4 million in funding in 2023, bringing the total investment since 2021 to US$567.8 million, according to an S&P Global Market Intelligence report. This substantial financial backing reflects the UAE’s leading role in the fintech sector within the MENA region. Experts predict…
UAE’s RAKBANK has reached an agreement with Austrian’s Bitpanda Technology Solutions to provide a platform that will enable UAE residents to manage digital assets. When fully launched, RAKBANK customers will be able to pursue various digital assets use cases unlocking one of the most complete offerings available in the UAE market. This is however subject to CBUAE approval. Dongjun “DJ” Choi, Group Chief Customer Officer of RAKBANK commented: “We believe digital assets represent one of the future ways for customers to manage their finances more efficiently and securely. This partnership is poised to fill the gap in the market…
ViaCarte, a payment technology company licensed to issue and acquire by Visa and Mastercard, has opened a new office in Nassau, Bahamas. This expansion aims to serve private banks, family offices, retailers, and high-net-worth individuals in the region who require seamless, around-the-clock payment solutions. ViaCarte offers a range of features tailored to meet diverse client needs. These include high card limits of up to US$500,000 per card, prepaid and hybrid cards that offer better functionality and wider acceptance than traditional credit cards, and an extensive loyalty benefit program. The program rewards users with cashback or access to over 300,000 travel…