Tagged: middle east

March 8, 2020 @ 8:25 pm By Omar Faridi  |  

HPS, a payments technology and services company, has reportedly been chosen by the Saudi Arabia Monetary Authority (SAMA) to offer a QR-based payment platform. The HPS deal is part of the Middle Eastern country’s larger Fintech development initiative. HPS will be overseen by Saudi Payments,… Read More

March 6, 2020 @ 10:07 pm By Omar Faridi  |  

Kuwait-based company Path Solutions has introduced the Path Digital and Path Intelligence platforms to allow local banks to offer clients a seamless and intelligent digital banking experience.  The Fintech solution provider noted that the launch of the new platform will complement its new Intelligent Digital… Read More

March 2, 2020 @ 7:30 am By Omar Faridi  |  

The Dubai International Financial Center (DIFC) has committed to a memorandum of understanding (MOU) with Singapore’s Tribe Accelerator, a government-backed blockchain or distributed ledger technology (DLT) project accelerator. According to the terms of the MoU, the DIFC and Tribe Accelerator aim to work cooperatively on… Read More

March 2, 2020 @ 12:35 am By Omar Faridi  |  

Monaco-based Fintech Privatam is expanding its operations by offering its services in Dubai. The company notes that the Middle Eastern city is a major regional financial and commercial hub and a key contributor to global capital markets.  Privatam’s founders (who are fellow investment bankers) include… Read More

February 24, 2020 @ 10:12 am By Omar Faridi  |  

Large banks based in the United Arab Emirates (UAE), one of the Middle East’s leading financial hubs, have been investing in digital transformation projects to compete in an industry with rapidly changing consumer requirements – according to analysis performed by Bloomberg Intelligence. The analysis revealed… Read More

February 19, 2020 @ 9:21 am By Omar Faridi  |  

Fiserv, Inc. (NASDAQ: FISV), a leading multinational firm focused on offering financial services technology platforms, has teamed up with Visa, Samsung and PayCore in order to test the use of consumer-grade smartphones as PIN-entry devices for retail sales transactions. The new capability can be accessed… Read More

February 5, 2020 @ 10:19 pm By Omar Faridi  |  

The United Arab Emirates’s (UAE) Ministry of Health and Prevention (MoHAP) has teamed up with the nation’s Ministry of Presidential Affairs, Dubai Healthcare City and several other local government agencies in order to launch a blockchain-enabled health data storage platform. The Emirates News Agency reported… Read More

January 29, 2020 @ 9:09 am By Omar Faridi  |  

Dubai-headquartered Sarwa confirmed on January 27 that it had finalized an $8.4 million Series A investment round, which was led by Kuwait Projects Company (KIPCO). The firm’s hybrid automated investment platform aims to simplify the process of investing while making it more affordable. Sarwa’s platform… Read More

January 29, 2020 @ 5:01 am By Omar Faridi  |  

Belgium-headquartered SettleMint, an enterprise blockchain firm, has reportedly secured €1.9 million (appr. $2.04 million) through a new investment round. KPN Ventures and Medici Ventures took part in the firm’s latest funding, SettleMint’s management confirmed on January 28. Following the capital injection, the company is planning… Read More

January 25, 2020 @ 11:02 am By Omar Faridi  |  

Dubai International Financial Centre (DIFC) Fintech Hive has announced the introduction of their investment-focused accelerator program for startups and other small companies in the Middle East, Africa and South Asia (MEASA) regions. The Fintech Hive Scale Up program will provide partnership and investment opportunities for… Read More

January 21, 2020 @ 9:15 pm By Omar Faridi  |  

A Dubai-headquartered Fintech firm focused on providing payment processing services will be launching OG Bank and OG Pay (On the Go), an online banking platform, chat-based digital payment wallet and an online point-of-sale (PoS) system – which will all be accessible and managed from mobile… Read More

January 14, 2020 @ 11:08 am By Omar Faridi  |  

HSBC, a British multinational investment bank and financial services holding company with over $2.5 trillion in total assets, has reportedly been voted as the leading trade finance bank in the Middle Eastern country of Bahrain in the Euromoney trade finance survey for 2020. This is… Read More

January 14, 2020 @ 12:06 am By Omar Faridi  |  

The Qatar Financial Center (QFC), one of the largest and fastest-growing business and financial centers in the Middle Eastern country, ended 2019 with a significant 33% growth, as nearly 200 companies registered on QFC’s platform. The number of firms establishing operations out of the QFC… Read More

January 13, 2020 @ 11:35 pm By Omar Faridi  |  

The global payments industry is evolving rapidly and will only be developing faster in the coming years according to several reports. From digital transformation efforts to the increasing competition among Fintech firms to innovate, it is becoming more important for companies to upgrade their tech… Read More

January 13, 2020 @ 2:41 pm By Samantha Hurst  |  

Digital money transfer service MoneyGram (NASDAQ: MGI) announced on Monday it has formed a new partnership with  EbixCash, an international supplier of on-demand software and E-commerce services to the insurance, financial, healthcare and e-learning industries, to bring enhanced services to millions of consumers across India…. Read More

January 9, 2020 @ 12:04 pm By Omar Faridi  |  

Crude oil production in Saudi Arabia slowed down considerably last year, from 10,643 BBL/D/1K in December 2018 to only 9,890 BBL/D/1K in November 2019. Steady and continuous drops in crude oil production may be attributed to several different factors, such as the attendant impact on… Read More

January 6, 2020 @ 10:14 am By Omar Faridi  |  

Solidarity Bahrain, one of Bahrain’s largest insurance service providers and a subsidiary of Solidarity Group Holding, has reportedly launched its newly developed core insurance system, TCS BaNCS. The TCS BaNCS insurance platform is part of the foundation of Solidarity’s digital transformation plan and has been… Read More

January 3, 2020 @ 4:55 pm By Samantha Hurst  |  

Uber (NYSE: UBER)  announced on Thursday it has officially completed the acquisition of Careem, an internet platform for ride-hailing that is based in the Middle East. Uber reported that it acquired Careem for $3.1 billion. Founded in 2012, Careem offers services in mass transportation, delivery… Read More

November 17, 2019 @ 11:33 pm By Omar Faridi  |  

Cashless or digital payments have become increasingly popular, however, cash still remains a widely-used payment method in most nations, especially in rural communities and jurisdictions with a large unbanked population. Following many years of steady growth, the total number of cash withdrawals made via ATMs… Read More

September 29, 2019 @ 4:34 pm By Omar Faridi  |  

Three out of four, or 75%, bank customers in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) prefer managing their finances online, instead of visiting a physical bank location. A majority of bank customers’ visits to physical locations has decreased to 0-2 times per year, according to a… Read More