Tagged: mena

June 29, 2021 @ 8:04 pm By Omar Faridi  |  

FinaMaze, the MENA region digital wealth management platform, has introduced two new investment themes: Cryptocurrency and “Inflation Protection.” These new investment opportunities aim to complement FinaMaze’s existing suite of products including China “Dragon Tech Leaders” and “Covid-related” smartfolios, along with the firm’s  traditional cross-asset class… Read More

June 24, 2021 @ 11:45 pm By Omar Faridi  |  

The Saudi cabinet has reportedly granted a digital banking permit to STC Pay, a virtual payments solution provider that’s a wholly owned subsidiary of Saudi Telecom. STC Pay will now be converted into a domestic virtual bank, with a capital of SAR 2.5 billion (appr…. Read More

June 24, 2021 @ 1:17 am By Omar Faridi  |  

Saudi Arabia-based Tweeq, a provider of spending accounts for individuals and small businesses operating across the country, revealed that it has finalized an undisclosed seven-figure funding round, which has been co-led by STV and Raed Ventures. As noted by the company’s management: “Our mission is… Read More

June 23, 2021 @ 10:47 pm By Omar Faridi  |  

A Mubadala-backed Fintech firm in Dubai has acquired a substantial amount of debt financing. This new round of funding for tabby reveals that Buy Now, Pay Later or BNPL companies are attracting a lot of business as the Fintech sector evolves rapidly with a rise… Read More

June 17, 2021 @ 8:37 pm By Omar Faridi  |  

Visa (NYSE: V) has confirmed the appointment of Dr. Saeeda Jaffar as Group Country Manager, and SVP for its operations across the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) region. Dr. Jaffar will reportedly be joining the digital payments leader to manage and oversee its presence in six… Read More

June 17, 2021 @ 7:54 pm By Omar Faridi  |  

Amazon Payment Services, a payment processing service for the MENA region, has introduced the Amazon Fintech Lab in the DIFC Innovation Hub. The project is reportedly the latest in Amazon Payment Services’ efforts to provide support to the Fintech ecosystem in the MENA region. The… Read More

June 15, 2021 @ 10:02 pm By Omar Faridi  |  

IFIN (Islamic Finance Initiation Network), the Islamic Fintech firm, has introduced its operations in the Sultanate of Oman by teaming up with Alizz Islamic Bank and Danube Home. Bahrain-based IFIN, a company that digitally connects Islamic finance service providers to retail outlets, aims to offer… Read More

June 13, 2021 @ 5:19 pm By Omar Faridi  |  

Egypt’s venture capital investment ecosystem has become one of the most fast-evolving markets in the MENA region. It’s been expanding at a 100% CAGR during the last 5 years, according to the 2020 Egypt Venture Investment Report released by Magnitt in collaboration with Egypt’s IT… Read More

June 7, 2021 @ 11:32 pm By Omar Faridi  |  

Pakistan Kuwait Investment Company (Private) Ltd (PKIC) recently made a PKR 500 million (appr. $3 million) equity investment into Planet N (Private) Ltd in order to support the fast-evolving startup sector in Pakistan. The new investment is reportedly part of Planet N’s $10 million funding… Read More

June 7, 2021 @ 10:26 pm By Omar Faridi  |  

M2P Solutions, the API Infrastructure firm that launched operations earlier in 2021 with Abu Dhabi as one of its headquarters, has received its Visa Ready-certification which should help the company with working cooperatively with banks that are based in the MENA region.  The company will… Read More

June 5, 2021 @ 10:37 am By Omar Faridi  |  

Adyen (AMS: ADYEN), a global payments solution provider based in the Netherlands, recently revealed that it’s expanding its local acquiring services to the United Arab Emirates (UAE). With acquiring capabilities now available in the UAE, Adyen aims to offer local and global companies with an… Read More

June 1, 2021 @ 11:21 pm By Omar Faridi  |  

Qatar-headquartered Fintech firm Dibsy has acquired $300,000 through a pre-seed round that was led by Salem Khalaf Al Mannai along with participation from several angel investors. Dibsy’s management reveals that their investment round was finalized in late 2020. The Dibsy team notes: “Our brand is… Read More

June 1, 2021 @ 11:07 pm By Omar Faridi  |  

Bahrain’s payment services provider NEC Payments has reportedly chosen Netcetera for its 3DS 2.0 solution, a payments security protocol. NEC Payments is a fast-growing digital banking and payment tech firm that provides Cloud-based banking-as-a-service (BaaS) solutions in the Middle East. NEC Payments is focused on… Read More

May 31, 2021 @ 1:43 pm By Omar Faridi  |  

Abu Dhabi-based PayBy, a payments startup, has teamed up with Al Maya Group in order to offer the latter with secure, contactless payment options across 49 of its supermarkets in the United Arab Emirates (UAE). When shopping at Al Maya supermarkets, customers will be able… Read More

May 31, 2021 @ 8:01 am By Omar Faridi  |  

A new digital platform called Dubai Next has been introduced in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) in order to allow innovators and business entrepreneurs of any nationality to acquire capital to launch their initiatives. The Dubai Next platform went live earlier this month (on Wednesday,… Read More

May 30, 2021 @ 2:34 pm By Omar Faridi  |  

Total trade volume between Qatar and the United Kingdom reportedly reached £7 billion last year, even though there were restrictions in place (partly due to COVID). The strong trading activity is also being reported after various challenges related to the pandemic and resulting socioeconomic uncertainty,… Read More

May 24, 2021 @ 10:37 pm By Omar Faridi  |  

i2c Inc., an established provider of digital payment and banking tech, revealed on Monday (May 23, 2021) that it has partnered with INVESTBANK, a bank offering various financial solutions in Jordan. i2c’s plug-and-play platform will reportedly power credit issuing and acquiring capabilities for INVESTBANK. Through… Read More

May 24, 2021 @ 9:46 pm By Omar Faridi  |  

Australian Stock Exchange (ASX)-listed Buy Now, Pay Later Fintech Zip is reportedly expanding its business operations into European markets and the Middle East. Zip says it’s acquiring European BNPL Fintech Twisto and UAE’s Spotii as well. Zip reportedly took part in a €16 million investment… Read More

May 22, 2021 @ 1:17 pm By Omar Faridi  |  

Wholesale banking has been undervalued, however, it has provided consistent results during the COVID-19 crisis, according to a recent report from Oliver Wyman and Morgan Stanley. The wholesale and transaction banking report, titled “Striving to Sustain Returns,” reveals that markets and investment banking were significantly… Read More

May 22, 2021 @ 10:09 am By Omar Faridi  |  

The reserve bank of Bahrain has shared its commentary on the work being done by retail banks to implement the infrastructure for compliance with the Bahrain Open Banking Framework (Bahrain OBF). This work was carried out after a grace period that allowed for implementation which… Read More