Sharia-compliant challenger Nomo taps Paymentology for digital payments platform
Paymentology’s technology has allowed the bank to offer cross-border transaction services “without high fees”.
Middle East
The latest fintech news, resources and expert analysis in the Middle East by the leading intelligence provider for the worldwide fintech community.
Tarabut Gateway lands $32m in Series A funding
With the new funding, the Dubai-based firm plans to expand its footprint in Saudi Arabia.
UAE’s Mbank partners Dgpays for digital wallet offering
The new offering will allow businesses in the region to integrate digital payments into their operations.
Network International in talks over potential £2bn sale to PE consortium
The consortium is made up of CVC Capital Partners and global tech investment firm Francisco Partners.
QFCA partners with R3 to boost Qatar’s fintech sector
The pair will collaborate to create an innovation lab catering to commercial banks and fintech firms in Qatar.
Capital Bank taps Finastra for corporate digital banking platform
The corporate digital banking platform unifies trade, supply chain finance, lending and treasury services.
Demystify Podcast: Demystifying ESG and financial services with Shargiil Bashir, FAB
Chief sustainability officer of FAB talks about the critical role of banks in supporting an ESG agenda.
Tarabut Gateway appoints Chun Ong as new chief operating officer
Ong joins from UK digital mortgage lender Molo, where he spent three years as COO.
UAE central bank partners R3 and G42 Cloud for CBDC implementation initiative
The CBDC initiative will look at a range of use cases across domestic and cross-border use.
Saudi EXIM Bank goes live on Temenos core
The implementation process and the go-live took place over six months, both firms say.
Qashio taps Alinma Bank to launch operations in Saudi Arabia
According to both firms, the partnership is the first between a bank and a fintech in Saudi Arabia.
Saudi National Bank chairman resigns following Credit Suisse losses
Saudi National Bank was the largest shareholder in Credit Suisse before it was taken over by UBS.
Bank ABC taps Temenos and NdcTech for core banking overhaul
Temenos’ core banking tech will also be used to power Bank ABC’s ila Bank, a digital mobile-only challenger.
Lebanese start-up Purpl launches digital wallet offering powered by Mambu
The fintech selected banking tech vendor Mambu to power its products last summer.
Al Busairi Bank opts for ICS Banks core banking system
The new microfinance bank will implement the ICS Banks Islamic core banking system from ICSFS.
Central banks of UAE and India partner for cross-border CBDC testing
The central banks will conduct joint proof of concept and pilots of bilateral CBDC cross-border transactions.
Saudi BNPL firm Tamara lands $150m debt facility from Goldman Sachs
The receivables warehouse facility will help Tamara finance the accelerating demand for its flagship BNPL product.
Rain partners Tarabut Gateway for open banking API
Rain will make use of Tarabut’s open banking payment solutions to facilitate on and off-ramp transactions for users.
UAE lendtech Ezra appoints new chief risk officer, Andrew Goodrich
Goodrich will lead the data engineering, predictive analytics, credit risk and fraud functions across Ezra.
UAE’s Mashreq Bank taps i2c for digital payment capabilities
Through the partnership, Mashreq will leverage i2c’s SaaS platform to offer digital payments.
Bahrain fintech Sinnad appoints Rana Almaeeli as CEO
Almaeeli has held several senior roles at Sinnad, most recently as general manager for more than 11 years.
Riyad Bank taps SunTec for e-invoicing integration with Saudi tax office
The integration allows banks to share standardised e-invoices with Saudi tax office Fatoora.
First Abu Dhabi Bank hires Michel Longhini to lead global private banking
Longhini joins from Edmond de Rothschild where he was CEO of private banking.
Saudi fintech Hala acquires UAE paytech Paymennt.com
Maher Loubieh, co-founder of Hala, says Paymennt’s product was a “clear fit” with their own strategy.
Dubai’s VARA outlines new virtual asset framework
VARA says the new framework will offer “regulatory certainty”, giving market participants greater clarity.
UAE’s central bank launches financial services digital transformation programme
The UAE is aiming to become a “financial and digital payment hub”.
Open banking fintech Tarabut Gateway appoints new VP of engineering
Derek Lakin has more than 20 years’ worth of experience in the software industry.
Dubai Investments buys 9% stake in UK challenger Monument Bank
Dubai Investments says the acquisition gives it a “unique opportunity” to move into the digital banking space.
BNPL fintech Tabby lands $58m in Series C funding
The Dubai-based firm plans to use the funding to support its growth and expand its product line.
Chief strategy and digital officer of Banque Saudi Fransi departs
He describes his tenure at BSF as an “amazing four years” in a LinkedIn post about his departure.
Hadhramout Commercial Bank opts for ICS Banks core banking system
Hadhramout Commercial Bank (HCB) is a new universal bank in Yemen.
Israeli trade financing start-up 40Seas raises $111m
40Seas offers financing for SMEs involved in global commerce.
American Express buys Israeli B2B payments automation start-up Nipendo
Amex plans to “integrate Nipendo’s team, technology and capabilities” to boost its B2B payments offerings.
Radu Topliceanu named as new head of digital bank Mashreq Neo
Mashreq Neo is the digital offshoot of UAE’s Mashreq – “a bank for a brilliant new world” – launched in 2017.
Saudi Central Bank debuts open banking lab to boost innovation
The Open Banking Lab will provide a technical testing environment to ensure compatibility with the country’s Open Banking Framework.
Fintech Galaxy snaps up Egypt’s Underlie to boost regional open finance
Fintech Galaxy will leverage Underlie’s open banking APIs expertise to speed up market penetration in Egypt.
Network International appoints group chief business transformation and technology officer
Network’s new hire Sandeep Chouhan brings over three decades of experience working in consumer banking and payments.
Jordan Kuwait Bank taps Codebase for digital onboarding and instant credit services
The bank will utilise Codebase Technologies’ Digibanc platform.
GCC fintech Now Money taps ThetaRay for AML Sonar solution
Now Money provides mobile banking services to the financially underserved, including low-fee cross-border remittances.
UK paytech Total Processing hires CCO and head of product to drive growth
Simon King joined as CCO in September while Aden Davies joins as head of product.
