Tagged: uae

February 14, 2024 @ 6:13 pm By Omar Faridi  |  

Kema, a UAE fintech platform founded by ex-Mumzworld.com co-founder Michael Ghandour, says it has raised a $2 million pre-seed round led by Speedinvest with participation from the Dubai Foundation District Fund (DFDF). Kema claims that it transforms “how businesses sell to one another (B2B) by… Read More

January 28, 2024 @ 6:56 pm By Michael Wong  |  

UAE’s Sharjah Islamic Bank (SIB) has announced a strategic partnership with Noqodi, a Fintech company and payment gateway owned by Emaratech Group, to enhance digital payment services. In a statement, the bank said the collaboration is set to substantially enhance the digital and electronic payment… Read More

January 23, 2024 @ 4:28 am By Omar Faridi  |  

Mashreq, which claims to be one of the leading financial institutions in the MENA region, has signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with the UAE-based fintech firm, Fils, in order to “develop a corporate carbon offsetting offering that helps corporate and institutional clients to integrate… Read More

January 8, 2024 @ 7:08 pm By Omar Faridi  |  

Maalexi, the UAE-based dynamic risk management platform for SME agri-businesses, announces its completion of a $3 million pre-Series A fund raise. The investment round was reportedly “led exclusively by Global Ventures – MENA’s venture capital firm – which joins existing venture capital investors Rockstart (Amsterdam)… Read More

January 4, 2024 @ 11:07 pm By Omar Faridi  |  

Dubai Duty Free, which claims to be one of the largest travel retail operators, announced its partnership with Alipay+ in order “to power a seamless travel and checkout experience for international visitors.” Consumers from South Korea, Singapore, the Philippines, Thailand, Mongolia, Italy as well as… Read More

December 27, 2023 @ 7:23 pm By Omar Faridi  |  

The Financial Services Regulatory Authority (FSRA) has announced revisions to its Anti-Money Laundering and Sanctions Rules and Guidance (the AML Rulebook). The FSRA has made revisions that “clarify the requirements that previously appeared in the AML Rulebook, reflecting the federal regulatory framework the UAE has… Read More

December 21, 2023 @ 3:10 am By Michael Wong  |  

Abu Dhabi-based Changer.ae has been granted a license by the Financial Services Regulatory Authority (FSRA) of Abu Dhabi Global Market (ADGM) to operate as a cryptocurrency custodian service. As the first regionally built, independent virtual asset custody provider in the UAE, Changer addresses the increasing… Read More

December 17, 2023 @ 4:07 pm By Michael Wong  |  

The United Arab Emirates (UAE) Ministry of Economy and the Government Development has nominated ABHI, a Pakistani fintech operator, as one of the emerging companies contributing significantly to the nation’s economic sector. This recognition came as ABHI recently inked a deal with Visa Inc. and… Read More

December 14, 2023 @ 9:27 pm By Omar Faridi  |  

UAE-based legaltech Clara announced its acquisition of BOTH Corporate Services Limited (BCS), a provider of corporate services in Abu Dhabi Global Market (ADGM). This deal is a key milestone for Clara as it initiates “an acquisition strategy to expand its customer base and extend its… Read More

December 12, 2023 @ 8:01 pm By Omar Faridi  |  

Accenture (NYSE: ACN) has signed a strategic agreement with the Commercial Bank of Dubai (CBD) in order to drive its technology transformation program and “further enhance its banking services to personal and business customers.” Accenture will set up “a development center of excellence (COE) to… Read More

November 30, 2023 @ 4:51 pm By Omar Faridi  |  

Paxos, the regulated blockchain & tokenization infrastructure platform, secured the in-principle approvals (IPAs) of the Financial Services Regulatory Authority (FSRA) in the Abu Dhabi Global Market (ADGM) for “the necessary Financial Services Permissions to issue US dollar and other currency-backed stablecoins, as well as to… Read More

November 28, 2023 @ 11:21 pm By Omar Faridi  |  

Wahed Invest Limited, the UAE robo-advisory subsidiary of Wahed Inc., a global Shariah-compliant fintech that aims to advance financial inclusion through accessible, affordable and value-based investing, has launched after “having been granted a Financial Services Permission (FSP) from the Financial Services Regulatory Authority (FSRA) of… Read More

November 14, 2023 @ 8:36 pm By Omar Faridi  |  

Crypto.com announced that its Dubai entity, CRO DAX Middle East FZE, has been granted a Virtual Assets Service Provider (VASP) License “for specified virtual asset service activities by Dubai’s Virtual Assets Regulatory Authority (VARA).” Crypto.com’s VASP License is “subject to the Company fully satisfying select… Read More

November 10, 2023 @ 5:36 pm By Omar Faridi  |  

Copper, an institutional digital asset infrastructure provider, has acquired Securrency Capital Limited, a full-service, regulated blockchain-enabled brokerage firm offering digital securities trading based in the Abu Dhabi Global Market (ADGM). Securrency Capital’s platform, “powered by Securrency’s digital asset infrastructure and compliance aware solutions, provides investors… Read More

November 8, 2023 @ 4:21 am By Omar Faridi  |  

SC Ventures, Standard Chartered’s innovation, fintech investment and ventures arm, is partnering with SBI Holdings, a Japanese financial conglomerate, to establish a Digital Asset Joint Venture investment company in the United Arab Emirates (UAE). The parties say that they intend “to capitalize the vehicle with… Read More

November 7, 2023 @ 9:36 pm By Omar Faridi  |  

Liv, UAE’s digital bank launched by Emirates NBD, a banking group in the MENAT region, has launched a new digital offering. Till the end of 2023, eligible Liv customers can benefit from instant personal loans without any fees via the Liv app. The digital bank… Read More

October 11, 2023 @ 8:21 am By Omar Faridi  |  

UnaFinancial, a Singapore-headquartered Fintech group (previously known as Robocash), has teamed up with Velexa, a UK-based wealthtech firm, in order to introduce a digital investing platform in the UAE. UnaFinancial and Velexa revealed that the collaboration aims to leverage Velexa’s expertise in investment tech and… Read More

October 2, 2023 @ 7:18 pm By Omar Faridi  |  

Dubai International Financial Centre (DIFC), the global financial center in the MENA and Southeast Asia region, has proposed to enact a Digital Assets Law, a Law of Security and related amendments to select existing legislation “to cater to the requirements of the DIFC’s proposed digital… Read More

September 27, 2023 @ 11:03 pm By Omar Faridi  |  

The MENA region reportedly has the sixth largest crypto economy of any region studied this year, “with an estimated $389.8 billion in on-chain value received between July 2022 and June 2023,” according to an update from Chainalysis. Chainalysis also mentioned that this “represents nearly 7.2%… Read More

September 27, 2023 @ 11:16 am By Michael Wong  |  

Visa Inc announced that it will introduce Account-to-Account (A2A) payments in the UAE through a partnership agreement with fintech firms ABHI and YellowPepper. In a statement, Visa said the collaboration aims to revolutionize the financial landscape by driving innovation, promoting financial inclusion, and accelerating the… Read More