Tagged: mena

April 11, 2023 @ 10:30 pm By Omar Faridi  |  

Republic Crypto, part of US-based securities crowdfunding firm Republic, has “expanded to the UAE with an aim to grow its presence and offer its services across the MENA region.” Republic Crypto is partnering with Ghaf Labs, a UAE-based incubator in supporting blockchain-based firms. Ghaf Labs… Read More

April 11, 2023 @ 10:15 pm By Omar Faridi  |  

FYST, a “one-stop” payments consultancy for ecommerce businesses, has released the first part of a new three-part report, ‘The Map of World Payments’, that drills deep into ecommerce payment trends, with this instalment focusing on the MENA region, and shows how merchants serving these regions… Read More

April 6, 2023 @ 10:43 pm By Omar Faridi  |  

The Central Bank of the UAE (CBUAE) has launched its Central Bank Digital Currency (CBDC) Implementation Strategy in collaboration with R3, G42 Cloud and Clifford Chance. For Phase 1, R3 and G42 Cloud have been “selected as the technology and infrastructure providers of the initiative… Read More

April 5, 2023 @ 9:53 pm By Omar Faridi  |  

Temenos (SIX: TEMN) announced that Saudi Export-Import Bank (Saudi EXIM Bank) has implemented Temenos core banking platform, going live in just six months. Temenos enables Saudi EXIM Bank “to drive operational and financial efficiency, making it faster and easier for businesses to access trade finance,… Read More

April 3, 2023 @ 9:56 pm By Omar Faridi  |  

The Central Bank of Bahrain has issued amendments to its Crypto-assets (“CRA”) Module in March 2023, “following a consultation process with the industry stakeholders.” The amendments aim “to cater to the ongoing developments in the crypto-assets markets and comply with the industry best practices while… Read More

April 2, 2023 @ 6:18 am By Omar Faridi  |  

NdcTech, a technology services firm transforming banks and financial institutions globally has successfully modernized the core banking system of Samba Bank onto the latest release of Temenos Transact. Samba Bank Limited is “a subsidiary of Saudi National Bank (SNB) KSA in Pakistan, offering personal and… Read More

March 30, 2023 @ 9:35 pm By Omar Faridi  |  

Paymentology, the global issuer-processor, has joined forces with Wio Bank PJSC, the region’s first platform bank, “to power its innovative banking model with customer-centric card payment services.” Wio Bank PJSC is leveraging Paymentology’s in-cloud card issuing platform and data analytics capabilities “to launch financial products… Read More

March 26, 2023 @ 11:37 pm By Omar Faridi  |  

Sygnum, the digital asset bank, announces the opening of its Middle East hub in the Abu Dhabi Global Market international financial centre “to provide a portfolio of Swiss-regulated crypto banking services.” This move should further strengthen Sygnum’s global reach, “following Sygnum Singapore’s growth via corporate… Read More

March 25, 2023 @ 4:41 pm By Omar Faridi  |  

Dubai International Financial Centre (DIFC), the global financial centre in the MENA and South Asia region, officially announced the launch of its venture building programme, ‘DIFC Launchpad’. The initiative seeks to develop a strong venture building model “that promotes the growth of innovative start-ups and… Read More

March 23, 2023 @ 9:36 pm By Omar Faridi  |  

Bank ABC, which claims to be one of MENA’s major international banks, has signed agreements with Temenos and NdcTech in order “to replace its core banking systems for its retail, corporate and wholesale businesses and power its subsidiary, ila Bank, the MENA region’s fast-growing digital… Read More

March 19, 2023 @ 2:46 pm By Omar Faridi  |  

Last week e& group and Mastercard (NYSE: MA) announced a region wide strategic partnership. Building on this strategic partnership, Etisalat by e& Egypt, a tech-telco operator, has partnered with Mastercard “to redefine digital experience and commerce for its e-wallet, Etisalat Cash, for customers across Egypt.”… Read More

March 15, 2023 @ 10:27 pm By Omar Faridi  |  

This is notably the first ‘directly integrated’ open banking API in MENA’s crypto sector. The collaboration will allow Rain customers in Bahrain “to quickly and easily top-up their crypto wallets via bank transfer through the Rain app.” Tarabut Gateway, which claims to be one of… Read More

March 14, 2023 @ 10:53 pm By Omar Faridi  |  

Zad is reportedly the “first-of-its-kind digital investment platform launched in Kuwait by Securities House, “offering end-users access to trade over 4,000 stocks and ETFs in full compliance with Islamic Shariah principles.” As noted in a blog post, Zad is “the brainchild of the fintech Securities… Read More

March 14, 2023 @ 10:49 pm By Omar Faridi  |  

Astra Tech’s PayBy, a Central Bank-UAE licensed Fintech offering a variety of financial technology services, has achieved a significant milestone in the MENA region fintech space by becoming one of the first fintech player “to obtain a Mastercard (NYSE: MA) principal membership license.” This achievement… Read More

March 14, 2023 @ 12:46 pm By Omar Faridi  |  

VMware recently announced VMware Cloud on AWS is now available in Bahrain. The service, which launched on February 28 in the AWS Middle East (Bahrain) region, will help customers in Bahrain “move their workloads across VMware cloud environments with optimized access to AWS services, supporting… Read More

March 13, 2023 @ 8:54 pm By Omar Faridi  |  

Paymob, the financial services enabler in the MENA region and Pakistan (MENAP) and Shahid, the Arabic streaming platform by MBC GROUP, announced their signing of a new partnership agreement. The partnership “enables Shahid customers in Egypt to pay for their subscriptions via electronic wallets processed… Read More

March 12, 2023 @ 11:47 pm By Omar Faridi  |  

Liquidity Group, an Israel-based fintech and asset manager, is looking to provide $500 million this year “to support startups in the UAE and across the Middle East.” The company reached unicorn status last month, “with fresh investment of $40 million from Japan’s MUFG at a… Read More

March 7, 2023 @ 9:29 pm By Omar Faridi  |  

FOODICS, the cloud-based restaurant management technology and payments platform in the MENA region, announces a strategic partnership with the Communications Platform as a Service (CPaaS) provider, Unifonic. Since it was founded in 2006, Unifonic has consistently “grown its product line and its markets to provide… Read More

March 7, 2023 @ 7:07 am By Omar Faridi  |  

Mastercard (NYSE: MA), a technology company in the global payments industry, has collaborated with Google in order “to launch Google Pay in Kuwait, strengthening digital payment capabilities in the country.” Cardholders can tap to pay “with their Android phones or supported Wear OS devices in… Read More

March 6, 2023 @ 1:17 am By Omar Faridi  |  

Liquidity Group, a pioneering financial technology firm and asset manager that uses patented machine learning and decision science to provide capital to high-growth technology companies, has announced the launch of its global ‘Twenty Chairs’ series. The series will bring together leading industry players “to network… Read More