Ideal Payments has teamed with Taif Money Transfer to launch Iraq’s “first” mobile payments app – Taif eWallet. The platform aims to create a “holistic payments ecosystem” used by multiple agents in the economy including retail merchants, ecommerce platforms, private companies, and government institutions. Ideal Payments’ local partner, Taif Money Transfer, will operate the service, […]
Emirates NBD has established its Future Lab, part of its digital strategy to speed up the development of digital and mobile banking services in the UAE. The bank says the lab is the “first of its kind in the UAE banking sector”, and will act as a “strategic think tank” in addition to being a […]
The Financial Services Regulatory Authority (FSRA) of Abu Dhabi Global Market (ADGM) is looking for public feedback and comments for its proposed FRSA Regulatory Laboratory (RegLab). The RegLab will provide a “controlled environment to allow the development and testing of innovative fintech solutions”. It will be the “first of its kind” in the Middle East […]
UAE-based Reem Finance has overhauled its core software with French vendor SAB and its flagship core banking system, SAB AT. This is the first taker of the system in the UAE, to Banking Technology’s knowledge. Banking Technology understands that on the way out is the Ethix system from regional vendor International Turnkey Systems (ITS). It […]
Qatar Islamic Bank (QIB) has launched a mobile app to identify and train people in the country to work in the private banking sector. Khalefa Al Mesalam, head of QIB Human Capital Group, says: “Through this mobile application, QIB aims to reach out to young talents and encourage them to work in Qatar’s banking sector. […]
Banking analytics vendor CustomerXPs has unveiled its new Clari5 Intraday Liquidity Monitoring Solution. This “real-time, packaged and ready-to-deploy” solution aims to help banks in the UAE to comply with BCBS 248 requirements for intraday liquidity risk management, says CustomerXPs. The deadline for compliance with the BCBS 248 regulations is January 2017. CustomerXPs’ offering promises data […]
UAE-based Al Hilal Bank has got a new CIO, Gopi Krishnan. He is calling on fintech CEOs to get in touch “to explore ways to collaborate”.
Standard Chartered is rolling out a suite of fingerprint and voice biometric technologies across Asia, Africa and the Middle East. The bank says the launch reaches more than five million clients, and is the “most extensive rollout of fingerprint biometric technology by any international bank and a first in most markets”. It is on a […]
Emirates NBD has unveiled Emirates NBD Pay, an NFC-based mobile contactless payment solution. The UAE-based bank says it is the “first” in the Central Europe, Middle East and Africa region (CEMEA) to incorporate Visa’s Token Service technology to launch a contactless payment solution. Suvo Sarkar, senior EVP and group head – retail banking and wealth […]
Dubai Islamic Bank (DIB) has chosen Nasdaq BWise’s governance, risk management and compliance (GRC) platform for more real-time visibility into their risks. The BWise GRC platform will support DIB, the largest Islamic bank in the United Arab Emirates, to continue monitoring and managing its risks, compile and present reports for the board, senior management and […]
Lebanon-based Blom Bank has signed for Wolters Kluwer’s flagship solution, OneSumX, for operational risk management. The project will be delivered by the vendor’s local partner, Advanced Financial Solutions. OneSumX Operational Risk “automates and simplifies” the process of collecting, storing, analysing, tracking and reporting on information relevant to operational losses, risk and control assessments, says Wolters […]
Standard Chartered Bank is bringing its video banking service to Asia, Africa and the Middle East, the “biggest roll-out of its kind by any international bank”. The bank says more than five million clients in nine markets across the continents will get access. The service is already live in Malaysia and Singapore, and will launch […]
Albilad Capital, the investment arm of Saudi Arabia’s Bank Albilad, is implementing IMSplus Custody, a specialist solution supplied by Profile Software. IMSplus Custody will support Albilad’s newly launched custodian services department. Albilad Capital operates according to Islamic finance principles and provides financing from equity and debt capital markets for a variety of sectors, including oil […]
Emirates NBD is planning to launch the UAE’s “first” digital bank targeted at millennials. The new bank is part of its three-year AED 500 million ($136 million) strategy to improve its processes, products and services. Shayne Nelson, group CEO of Emirates NBD, says this “digital transformation plan” is its “commitment to the future”. The bank’s […]
Saudi Arabian Monetary Agency (SAMA), Saudi Arabia’s central bank, is modernising its technology with a range of new solutions from SAP and Calypso. The bank is working SAP to automate the ERP and BI functionality (with SAP’s Business Objects), and is also interested in Bank Analyzer for financial reporting, indicates the vendor. SAP is now […]
San Francisco-based Paymentwall has integrated Iran’s local payment system, following the end of economic sanctions in the country. The US and the European Union had imposed economic sanctions on Iran until it complied with restrictions set for its nuclear program. After 35 years, Iran agreed to a nuclear deal with the US, and it can […]
Qatar Islamic Bank (QIB) has finally gone live with a new core banking system, Temenos’ T24, nearly six years after signing the original contract. Gopi Krishnan, CIO at QIB, describes the implementation as the “fastest and most complex transformation programme in the Middle East region in the recent past”. Despite this, it actually was a […]
Al Ahli Bank of Kuwait (ABK) has picked Infosys’ Finacle suite to replace Misys’ products as part of its technology revamp. The bank will deploy the complete suite of Finacle solutions, including core banking, trade finance, wealth management, CRM, e-banking, payments, treasury, alerts, SMS banking, liquidity management, retail and corporate loan origination. Abdulla Alsumait, deputy […]
Iranian banks are being reconnected to Swift’s international payments system after a four-year hiatus. Following the lifting of economic sanctions last month under the nuclear deal with world powers, Iran’s Central Bank and 15 other banks have restored access to Swift. The Central Bank says: “The on-boarding process including administrative and technical measures for all […]
An interesting trend is developing in the halal sector: regional hubs are developing in places that have some local demand but not the size that would be significant markets on their own. Think of Malaysia (the largest) or Dubai or tiny Brunei. Each sees the halal sector as being strategic to their economic growth, and for Dubai and Brunei at least, as key aspects of their economic diversification. This trend has the potential to support global growth in the Islamic economy as well as SME development but need a lot of (costly) infrastructure put in place to open up the international side to SMEs
The London Stock Exchange says that the launch of Turkish derivatives on its derivatives market represents part of the long-cherished goal of growing its derivatives business around the world. It also represents the exchange’s ‘open access’ policy.
Türk Ekonomi Bankası, one of the private sector commercial banks in Turkey, and a strategic partner of BNP Paribas, has launched an enhanced digital banking service featuring the ability to hold live chat sessions with bank staff.
Adoption of innovative technology will be central to the fulfilment of bullish growth predictions of 25% or more for transaction banks in the Middle East, according to a survey of market participants during a recent conference in Dubai.
Lebanese commercial bank Al-Mawarid has begun a bank transformation project focused on mobile and online banking using the FusionBanking Essence Digital software from Misys.
The London Stock Exchange is to begin trading Turkish futures and options, following a deal with Borsa Istanbul. The agreement will help to open up the Turkish market to more investors; it will also help to deepen the LSE’s derivatives market, which it has been trying to build up in recent years.
Bank of America Merrill Lynch has made a series of internal promotions in its EMEA Global Transaction Services team.
Controversy over Sharia Law reached Hollywood recently as protesters boycotted the glamorous Beverly Hills Hotel over a tough new code introduced by the hotel’s owner, the Sheikh of Brunei. More prosaically, bankers remain divided over how best to respond to demand for Sharia-compliant banking.
Banks are pioneering advanced technologies in Turkey, giving the country a headstart over many of its European counterparts. In Istanbul, Garanti Bank explained how it pays for its customers to get mobile internet access – and how it is using social media to attract and keep customers.
European trading venue BATS Chi-X Europe is set to expand into Turkey, starting on 3 November. The move is the first time a competitor has entered the Turkish market to take on Borsa Istanbul. It is also BATS’ first new market since it took over Chi-X in 2011 – and the company’s first venture into an emerging market.
A sustained rally in frontier markets is leading an expansion of size and liquidity as investors seek opportunities that are not available in the developed or emerging markets, according to a new report by research house Aite.
The Bahrain Bourse has replaced its trading platform with a new one provided by Nasdaq OMX, as part of a new drive to become a trading hub in the Persian Gulf region. The Bahrain Bourse was established in 2010 to replace the country’s previous stock market, the Bahrain Stock Exchange. Although the market was already […]
Turkish bank Yapi Kredi has partnered with mobile money specialist Monitise to develop branchless banking’ services in which the consumer can open an account and carry out all their transactions without the need for physical locations.
Turkey’s largest investment bank Aktif has begun using international payment services from specialist Earthport, in a move the bank says will help its corporate and retail customers to get a better deal on their cross-border payments.
Online investment bank Saxo Bank has opened an office in Abu Dhabi to target demand for sophisticated financial services from the increasingly wealthy population of the United Arab Emirates.
Emirates NBD has launched a tablet banking service, which it says makes it the first bank in the Middle East to offer tablet-based financial planning. Launched for the bank’s priority banking relationship managers and wealth management advisors, the new apps allow them to access customer information using their tablets.
Commercial Bank of Qatar has implemented a new tool from Experian into its credit risk team, which it says will help it to automate customer scoring and decision making on loans and credit cards.
Abu Dhabi Securities Exchange has gone live on a new trading engine provided by US exchange group Nasdaq OMX. The upgrade project provides the Middle Eastern exchange a trading platform that will allow it to trade new asset classes and further its rivalry against Dubai and other regional exchanges.
The International Bank of Qatar has installed a financial crime risk management platform from tech vendor Fiserv, which it says will help it to better manage its money laundering and fraud prevention strategy.
Four Middle Eastern exchanges – Amman, Beirut, Tunis and Muscat – are to migrate to Euronext’s Universal Trading Platform, replacing the older NSC trading engine they are currently using.
US broker BGC Partners and UAE government-run free zone the Dubai Multi Commodity Centre have done a deal to promote Islamic ‘Murabaha’ products, as part of a drive to turn Dubai into an Islamic finance hub. The DMCC has a trade platform called DMCC Tradeflow, which operates in the Jumeirah Lakes Towers Free Zone. A […]
