Tagged: mena region

June 10, 2023 @ 4:36 pm By Omar Faridi  |  

Mastercard (NYSE: MA) and NAPS, a Moroccan fintech company, have announced a collaboration to develop various payment solutions for individuals as well as business organizations. The new partnership aims to consolidate the solid historical relationship between the two entities. NAPS says it is on a… Read More

June 8, 2023 @ 6:11 am By Omar Faridi  |  

The team at Gemini is pleased to announce that Gemini will soon “begin the process of acquiring a crypto license to serve customers based in the United Arab Emirates (UAE).” As a “forward-thinking,” global financial hub, the UAE is “continuing its tradition of leadership by… Read More

June 7, 2023 @ 10:54 pm By Omar Faridi  |  

Dapi, a UAE-based fintech company, part of Hub71’s global tech ecosystem, is thrilled to announce a strategic partnership with global technology company Mastercard, aimed at introducing account-to-account (A2A) payments on Mastercard Payment Gateway Services (MPGS). The agreement was “signed at Seamless Middle East, the largest… Read More

June 5, 2023 @ 9:35 pm By Omar Faridi  |  

Tabby, the MENA region’s shopping and financial services app, has successfully closed a new financing round “resulting in upsizing its debt facility to $350 million, over a 2X increase since its last debt raising announcement.” The investment round reportedly “involved the participation of key global… Read More

May 31, 2023 @ 10:56 pm By Omar Faridi  |  

Tarabut Gateway, MENA’s open banking platform, announces a strategic partnership with Qarar, the region’s credit analytics technology provider and technology arm of SIMAH, the first and largest credit bureau in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. This strategic partnership is set to enhance the financial landscape… Read More

May 29, 2023 @ 10:48 am By Omar Faridi  |  

Instant Cash, a company within the FINTX portfolio, the fintech arm of Emirates Post Group, has received the Retail Payment Services and Card Scheme Regulation (RPSCS) Category 2 License from the Central Bank of the UAE (CBUAE). This reportedly makes it “the first Money Transfer… Read More

May 28, 2023 @ 8:44 pm By Omar Faridi  |  

Abu Dhabi Islamic Bank (ADIB) has reportedly become the first bank in the UAE to provide small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) “with convenient remote account opening services through a mobile app by deploying Emirates Face Recognition (EFR) technology.” This new feature will “allow businesses to… Read More

May 25, 2023 @ 10:00 pm By Omar Faridi  |  

D360 Bank, Saudi Arabia’s innovative new digital bank is pleased to announce its partnership with Thunes, a global cross-border payment infrastructure platform. This collaboration will “empower D360 Bank’s customers in Saudi Arabia to make fast and cost-effective B2B business payments and international remittances worldwide.” Additionally,… Read More

May 25, 2023 @ 9:52 pm By Omar Faridi  |  

SAB has announced its collaboration with Ottu, a fast-growing payment fintech, to enhance its Digital Payments Solution. This partnership will “provide SAB merchants with an Online Payment Management Solution (OPMS) using direct integration with the payment gateways provided by SAB.” This collaboration aims “to simplify… Read More

May 24, 2023 @ 11:17 pm By Omar Faridi  |  

Checkout.com, the global payments service provider, has been granted a Retail Payment Services license from the Central Bank of the United Arab Emirates. This makes Checkout.com the first global payments provider “to be granted an acquiring license in the country, further cementing its position as… Read More

May 22, 2023 @ 5:18 pm By Omar Faridi  |  

PayTabs, MEASA’s payment solutions provider, today announced a strategic partnership with FlapKap, MENA’s revenue-based financing platform. The collaboration between the two firms aims “to support new and existing PayTabs entrepreneurs, webpreneurs and small and medium e-commerce businesses (SMEs) based in the UAE to obtain a… Read More

May 16, 2023 @ 10:09 pm By Omar Faridi  |  

Emirates Islamic, which claims to be one of the leading Islamic financial institutions in the UAE, has launched the new Emarati Absher Business Account designed exclusively “to provide a comprehensive suite of premium banking solutions for Emarati start-ups in the UAE.” The new business banking… Read More

May 14, 2023 @ 12:06 pm By Omar Faridi  |  

On the back of strong growth in the Middle East, Ripple, the enterprise blockchain and crypto solutions provider, is expanding its presence in Dubai by “opening a new office location in the heart of Dubai International Financial Centre (DIFC) and bringing Swell Global 2023, the… Read More

May 12, 2023 @ 7:05 pm By Omar Faridi  |  

ABHI, which claims to be a growing embedded finance platform in the MENAP region, announces it has made history by issuing Islamic bonds worth PKR 2 billion (US$7.1 million). The bond issue is considered to be “a significant milestone for both ABHI, and the region,… Read More

May 11, 2023 @ 1:29 pm By Omar Faridi  |  

Standard Chartered (LON: STAN) has signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with Dubai International Financial Centre (DIFC) in order “to collaborate on digital assets, including digital asset custody.” Subject to regulatory approval, Standard Chartered plans “to launch digital asset custody services, starting in DIFC and… Read More

May 9, 2023 @ 10:36 pm By Omar Faridi  |  

The Saudi Central Bank (SAMA) seeks public consultation on the draft “Rules for Regulating Buy Now Pay later (BNPL) Companies.” In the interest of transparency and wider participation, SAMA reportedly “invites stakeholders and public to provide suggestions and observations on the draft Rules by visiting… Read More

May 8, 2023 @ 11:21 pm By Omar Faridi  |  

Global payments provider Checkout.com has entered an agreement with Mamo, the fintech powering payments for SMEs across MENA, making Checkout.com the payments provider of choice for their flagship product Mamo Business. This deal further supports Mamo’s mission “to accelerate the growth of SMEs in the… Read More

May 5, 2023 @ 8:21 am By Omar Faridi  |  

Tarabut Gateway, which claims to be one of MENA’s leading open banking platforms, announces the completion of a US$32 million Series A fundraise. The investment round was “led by Pinnacle Capital, a leading alternative investment firm that focuses on KSA investments to provide unique alternative… Read More

May 3, 2023 @ 10:21 pm By Omar Faridi  |  

ADIA Lab, the Abu Dhabi-based institute dedicated to basic and applied research in data and computational sciences, has partnered with CrunchDAO, a research team of data scientists leveraging Web3 and machine learning to produce next-generation financial insights, “to launch the ADIA Lab Market Prediction competition… Read More

May 3, 2023 @ 5:06 pm By Omar Faridi  |  

Following the Investor and Marketplace Alert dated 12 April 2023 in relation to opnx.com (OPNX) conducting unregulated activity, Dubai’s Virtual Assets Regulatory Authority (VARA) has issued “a formal Letter of Reprimand to OPNX and its founders” for the following: Carrying out VA Exchange Services on… Read More