Tagged: middle east

May 11, 2021 @ 10:32 pm By Omar Faridi  |  

Mobiquity, a digital transformation enabler, has teamed up with Kuwait International Bank (KIB), in order to support the institution’s goal of becoming a leading all-digital Islamic or Shariah-compliant financial service provider. Through the partnership, KIB will be working with Mobiquity’s team of experienced professionals –… Read More

May 9, 2021 @ 9:35 pm By Omar Faridi  |  

Kuwait Finance House (KFH), the nation’s first banking institution operating in accordance with the Islamic Shari’a, has introduced a digital wallet service that is being supported through smartphones (and even smart watches). KFH, which is listed on the Kuwait Stock Exchange, with a market cap… Read More

May 9, 2021 @ 2:34 pm By Omar Faridi  |  

Earlier this week, the Central Bank of the United Arab Emirates (UAE) revealed that it had been working cooperatively with SWIFT, an international provider of secure bank-to-bank messaging services. SWIFT and the UAE reserve bank are reportedly working an initiative that will improve the speed… Read More

May 6, 2021 @ 7:47 pm By Omar Faridi  |  

The Arab Monetary Fund, which aims to establish policies of Arab monetary cooperation and promote the development of Arab financial markets, has launched “Finxar,” which is a regional Fintech index for tracking the development of the financial technology industry in Arab nations. The United Arab… Read More

April 24, 2021 @ 9:17 pm By Omar Faridi  |  

Saudi Arabia-based Tamara, a Buy Now, Pay Later (BNPL) service provider, recently confirmed that it finalized a $110 million Series A funding round led by Checkout.com. The funds raised will be used by Tamara to scale its professional team, expand into new markets in the… Read More

April 19, 2021 @ 11:33 pm By Omar Faridi  |  

The Board of Abu Dhabi Global Market (ADGM), the international financial center located in Abu Dhabi, has reportedly approved the formation of the ADGM Authority. ADGM Authority is expected to be led by Mark Nicholas Cutis, who will be serving as the organization’s Chief Executive…. Read More

April 15, 2021 @ 10:17 pm By Omar Faridi  |  

Saudi Arabia-based Cloud-enabled Point-Of-Sale (POS) startup Prexle has reportedly finalized its seed funding round which is valued at 2.5 million Saudi riyals (appr. $670,000). Company CEO and Co-founder, Abdullah Alajlan stated that they’re happy to close their latest investment round. He added that the funds… Read More

April 13, 2021 @ 11:42 pm By Omar Faridi  |  

The reserve bank in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) has issued a license to Al Maryah Community Bank in order to offer services in the Middle Eastern nation. Al Maryah is notably the very first all-digital bank to have been given approval to begin providing… Read More

April 6, 2021 @ 7:56 am By Omar Faridi  |  

Fintech firm Stripe has reportedly launched its business operations in the Middle East with its recent entry into the United Arab Emirates (UAE). Stripe is notably one of Silicon Valley’s most valuable Fintechs. The company chose Dubai, a major MENA region financial hub, for its… Read More

April 5, 2021 @ 10:23 pm By Omar Faridi  |  

The Financial Services Regulatory Authority (FSRA) of Abu Dhabi Global Market (ADGM) has provided an updated set of regulatory guidelines that are meant to serve as a framework to support the operations of Fintech companies. Many of these startups offer third-party services to clients of… Read More

March 31, 2021 @ 7:49 am By Samantha Hurst  |  

  SadaPay, a Pakistan-based fintech startup, has reportedly secured $7.2 million through its latest seed funding round, which was led by Recharge Capital with participation from Kingsway Capital, Raptor Group, Ualá’s founder Pierpaolo Barbieri, Ribbit Capital’s Brian McGrath, former General Catalyst partner Ilan Stern, and Valon Technologies’ founder… Read More

March 29, 2021 @ 11:12 pm By Omar Faridi  |  

Fitch Ratings reports that the Islamic banking ecosystem in Oman is expected to continue growing during 2021-2022 after rather strong momentum last year. This, despite the COVID-19 outbreak and historically low oil prices, Fitch Ratings noted. Islamic financing in the MENA region country expanded by… Read More

March 26, 2021 @ 10:55 pm By Omar Faridi  |  

Qatar’s Islamic or Sharia-compliant Fintech sector is on track to record significant growth in the next 5 years, according to local sources. As digital transformations accelerate Islamic finance ecosystems worldwide, we are happy to share with you the Global Islamic Fintech Report 2021 produced by… Read More

March 24, 2021 @ 11:20 pm By Omar Faridi  |  

Dr. Saeeda Jaffar, Board Member, Managing Director and Head of Middle East at Alvarez & Marsal, notes that research performed by Checkout.com at the end of last year suggested that digital commerce and the digital payment sectors in the Middle East region were “set for… Read More

March 23, 2021 @ 12:27 am By Omar Faridi  |  

Islamic or Sharia-compliant Fintech services are being increasingly adopted in Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates (UAE) and internationally as well, according to a report from Arabian Business. As reported by the news outlet, the largest transaction volumes have come from Saudi Arabia, the UAE,… Read More

March 20, 2021 @ 7:03 pm By Omar Faridi  |  

The Qatar Development Bank (QDB) and M7, a creative start-up hub that’s operated under Qatar Museums, are introducing Scale7, which is a business incubator for MENA region entrepreneurs. Scale 7 aims to support a creative and artistic ecosystem. The initiative will help Qatari entrepreneurs, local… Read More

March 14, 2021 @ 2:10 pm By Omar Faridi  |  

The third edition of Startupbootcamp Fintech Dubai’s accelerator program has now concluded. During the Demo Day, there were 11 startups that pitched their ideas to potential investors, corporate partners, industry experts, mentors, and the general public. Startupbootcamp Fintech Dubai was introduced in 2018 through a… Read More

March 11, 2021 @ 10:22 pm By Omar Faridi  |  

South Africa based Fintech group Adumo has secured R225 million (appr. $14.9 million) in capital from the International Finance Corporation (IFC), which is a member of the World Bank Group. The IFC Financial Institutions Growth Fund also contributed investments in order to expand access to… Read More

March 11, 2021 @ 8:18 am By Samantha Hurst  |  

  UK banking group Standard Chartered Bank announced on Thursday it has teamed up with BlackRock’s Aladdin platform to offer integrated end-to-end office investment management solutions to mutual clients across Asia, Africa, and the Middle East. According to BlackRock, Aladdin technology combines risk analytics and… Read More

March 8, 2021 @ 11:58 pm By Omar Faridi  |  

United Arab Emirates’ first “independent” virtual banking platform has just launched with more than 25,000 applicants that had pre-registered during the past few months in order to use the bank’s Fintech app. UAE-headquartered digital bank YAP will be allowing locals to open a bank account… Read More