Tagged: middle east

September 18, 2020 @ 8:43 pm By Omar Faridi  |  

The Qatar Financial Center Regulatory Authority (QFCRA) recently revealed that it will be migrating its online services to the Microsoft Cloud in order to move forward with its digital transformation strategy. The move to Microsoft Cloud comes after the Middle Eastern nation’s Ministry of Transport… Read More

September 18, 2020 @ 7:42 am By Omar Faridi  |  

The UAE’s Ministry of Finance will be working with the First Abu Dhabi Bank (FAB) in order to launch electronic or digital Dirham contactless payments cards for settling governmental service charges. The eDirham has been set up as a system of digital channels that are… Read More

September 17, 2020 @ 8:07 pm By Omar Faridi  |  

Singapore based Fintech firm 360F aims to accelerate digital transformation for insurance service providers in the Middle East. As mentioned in a release shared with Crowdfund Insider, 360F is financial technology company that provides various solutions and implementation services to banks to enable “digital multi-channel… Read More

September 15, 2020 @ 9:57 pm By Omar Faridi  |  

The team at DAPI, the first financial API in the MENA region that allows financial technology apps to leverage Open Banking by facilitating digital payments and accessing real-time banking data, have written an open letter to the UAE Bank Federation Advisory Council. The letter, which… Read More

September 14, 2020 @ 10:36 am By Omar Faridi  |  

Dubai’s Buy Now Pay Later (BNPL) Fintech firm Spotii has officially launched on Microsoft AppSource, which is an app store and online marketplace for companies using various Microsoft products. Spotii’s digital platform allows fashion, beauty, and lifestyle retail outlets to provide more flexible payment plans… Read More

September 13, 2020 @ 9:55 pm By Omar Faridi  |  

The Abu Dhabi Global Market (ADGM) has received applications from MENA region companies that are interested in launching digital banking platforms. Richard Teng, who works at the emirate’s international financial free zone as the head of its Financial Services Regulatory Authority, revealed that his organization… Read More

September 11, 2020 @ 10:43 am By Omar Faridi  |  

The MENA region’s digital payments sector is projected to grow by 6.5% from 2020 to 2021. The Coronavirus crisis may have accelerated the shift towards the adoption of all-digital platforms and services, including virtual payments. The MENA region’s Fintech industry participants recently noted that the… Read More

September 10, 2020 @ 9:39 pm By Omar Faridi  |  

The Middle Eastern country of Bahrain has identified key focus areas to further develop its economy. The nation’s government has outlined a national strategy for supporting digital commerce. Zayed Alazayani, the Industry, Commerce and Tourism Minister, stated that the Kingdom will be introducing new laws… Read More

September 9, 2020 @ 10:25 pm By Omar Faridi  |  

Payments giant Mastercard has teamed up with the Qatar Development Bank (QDB) in order to support the ongoing development of the nation’s Fintech sector. Through the partnership, Mastercard and QDB will support the Qatar Fintech Hub (QFTH), which is a technology ecosystem that aims to… Read More

September 7, 2020 @ 10:00 pm By Omar Faridi  |  

Kokila Alagh, Founder of KARM Legal and a member of the MENA Fintech board, recently shared the latest updates from the Middle East region, including the United Arab Emirates (UAE) with Crowdfund Insider. Alagh works closely with the Arab Monetary Fund (AMF), the Dubai International… Read More

September 7, 2020 @ 11:24 am By Omar Faridi  |  

The Fintech industry in the Middle East and wider MENA region has experienced significant growth during the past several years. The State of Fintech report reveals that the number of financial technology companies in the Middle East was expected to increase from around 105 in… Read More

September 4, 2020 @ 7:17 pm By Omar Faridi  |  

Digital solutions provider Thales is reportedly supplying the Commercial Bank of Kuwait (CBK) with its Gemalto Trusted Services Hub (TSH), which will allow the bank’s customers to perform secure contactless payments from their smartphones. According to a release, a tokenization process will be used to… Read More

September 2, 2020 @ 11:48 pm By Omar Faridi  |  

Sameer Nawani, Chief Representative of the Dubai Chamber’s International Office in Mumbai, has noted that the digitization and ongoing growth in technology will lead to significant changes in financial and healthcare services. Nawani, whose comments came during a recent webinar about the impact of COVID-19… Read More

September 2, 2020 @ 8:45 am By Omar Faridi  |  

Delivery Hero, a Berlin-based online delivery platform operating in the Middle East, has teamed up with Mastercard in order to digitize its entire payment process across all its products offered to MENA region customers. Delivery Hero app users will have the option to pay for… Read More

August 31, 2020 @ 11:57 am By Omar Faridi  |  

The MENA region is reportedly experiencing a strong revival of its digital commerce and virtual payments sector, particularly during the past quarter of this year. This key Fintech trend is expected to continue and also keep up its current growth rate in the coming years,… Read More

August 24, 2020 @ 10:04 pm By Omar Faridi  |  

Qatar has been ranked or classified as a high-income economy by the World Bank. Although the Middle Eastern country only has a GDP of around $200 billion (a lot less compared to many trillion-dollar economies), it’s home to just over 2.7 million people so the… Read More

August 19, 2020 @ 9:36 am By Omar Faridi  |  

Bahrain introduced its first Open Banking product for the MENA region during December of last year. The central bank of Bahrain is among the first major institutions in the Middle East to propose and create regulations that require the adoption of Open Banking technologies by… Read More

August 18, 2020 @ 11:37 pm By Omar Faridi  |  

Fintech Saudi, an initiative that aims to transform Saudi Arabia into an innovative Fintech Hub with “a thriving and responsible” financial technology ecosystem, has been supporting the Kingdom’s economy by establishing an ecosystem directory and an online jobs portal dedicated to Fintech professionals. Fintech Saudi… Read More

August 17, 2020 @ 7:37 pm By Omar Faridi  |  

[email protected] recently committed to a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) with Khaled Abdulla Almass and his investment firm, iMass LLC, in order to focus on the expansion and ongoing development of [email protected] into the Middle East region. [email protected] is a Fintech firm that’s owned by Italy’s… Read More

August 17, 2020 @ 6:08 pm By Omar Faridi  |  

Abu Dhabi based NymCard, a card issuing and processing platform, has reportedly been granted “in-principle” approval from the Financial Services Regulatory Authority (FSRA) of the Abu Dhabi Global Market. The Fintech firm aims to assist financial service providers including banks, and other financial technology companies… Read More