Qatar is positioning itself as a regional hub for open banking and Islamic Fintech, supported by robust regulatory frameworks, advanced API infrastructure, and strategic partnerships, according to the latest Islamic Finance Report by the Qatar Financial Centre (QFC). The report outlines how Doha is building a pioneering open banking ecosystem aimed at transforming the financial…
Visa has announced the appointment of Tareq Muhmood as Regional President for Central and Eastern Europe, Middle East and Africa (CEMEA). In this role, Muhmood will oversee operations across more than 86 markets in the region, where Visa serves over 1,800 clients through 23 local offices. Muhmood brings over three decades of experience in…
The UAE is reinforcing its position as one of the world’s most attractive and secure destinations for fintech startups, as fresh data and investor sentiment point to rising momentum across the regional entrepreneurial ecosystem. MENA fintech startups raised a combined $289 million in May, a 25% increase from April, with a Wamda report showing that…
Mastercard and enza have collaborated to connect fintech companies across Africa to the Mastercard network. This collaboration will enable fintech players to build propositions on the enza platform that serve both consumers and businesses with embedded Mastercard payment solutions capabilities. According to a report by the European Investment Bank, the number of fintech companies in…
Doha’s Islamic fintech market is expected to record a 10% compound annual growth rate (CAGR) in the years to 2028, reaching QR16.1bn in total transaction volumes, according to the Qatar Financial Centre (QFC) report.”This robust growth is being driven by increasing consumer demand, favorable regulatory frameworks, and strategic investments in fintech infrastructure,” said the report….
OpenTrade, a London-based fintech infrastructure provider, has closed a £5.5 million funding round, led by Notion Capital and Mercury Fund, raising its total capital to around £8.5 million since inception. The investment is earmarked to scale its build-out of real-world asset-backed stablecoin yield services across high-inflation markets in Latin America and Europe. OpenTrade embeds“yield-as-a-service” into…
BENEFIT, Bahrain’s innovator and leading company in Fintech and electronic financial transactions service, has officially announced the launch of the fourth edition of its annual FinTech Internship Program “Masar”. This strategic program is designed to cultivate the potential of Bahraini youth by equipping them with hands-on experience, and skills development in the FinTech sector. Aimed…
BENEFIT, Bahrain’s innovator and leading company in Fintech and electronic financial transactions service, has signed a strategic cooperation agreement with Bahrain Clear, a fully-owned subsidiary of Bahrain Bourse, to launch eIPO Service (electronic initial public offering service) on BenefitPay. This initiative marks a significant advancement in streamlining investor access to public share offerings on the…
Zoho, a leading global technology company, and areeba, a leading payment processing service provider in the Middle East, today announced a strategic partnership agreement aimed at fast-tracking digital transformation of businesses across the region. The MoU was signed in a ceremony at Seamless Dubai 2025 by Prem Anand Velumani, Associate Director, Strategic Alliances, Zoho Middle…
MoneyHash, the Middle East and Africa’s leading payment orchestration platform, has announced a strategic partnership with Lean Technologies, the region’s leading financial infrastructure platform, to bring instant Account-to-Account (A2A) payments for e-commerce and digital-first businesses across the UAE. The partnership enables merchants to offer seamless, bank-direct payments at checkout, reducing card processing fees, improving checkout…
