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Middle East

Contactless Dubai: You can leave your cards at home!

Contactless Dubai: You can leave your cards at home!

The author reflects on their experience moving from Denmark—where contactless payments via Apple Pay and smartwatches are ubiquitous—to Muscat, where physical cards remain necessary due to limited mobile payment infrastructure, highlighting the stark differences in digital payment adoption...

My FinTech Tour of the GCC

My FinTech Tour of the GCC

A former Chief Transformation Officer at Sohar International in Oman embarks on a regional FinTech tour across GCC countries to observe banking and FinTech ecosystem developments firsthand and connect with industry leaders.

An overview of: Tamara (Buy Now, Pay Later)

An overview of: Tamara (Buy Now, Pay Later)

Vippin provides an overview of Tamara, a MENA-based Buy Now, Pay Later leader with over 3 million customers across 4,000+ merchant partners. The platform enables interest-free purchases compliant with Islamic Sharia rules and has expanded across Saudi Arabia, UAE, and Kuwait.

Ruba: Helping Kuwaiti parents spread the cost of school fees

Ruba: Helping Kuwaiti parents spread the cost of school fees

Ruba is a Kuwaiti fintech startup that allows parents to spread school fee payments over 12 monthly installments at zero cost, addressing cash flow challenges from large tuition bills paid just 2-3 times annually.

Ziina secures $850k funding and introduces P2P payment app in Dubai fintech scene

Dubai-based fintech startup Ziina secured $850,000 in pre-seed funding and launched a P2P payment app enabling users to send and receive money using only a phone number, aiming to simplify peer-to-peer payments across the Middle East.

Abu Dhabi's Dapi faces challenges with open banking in MENA

Abu Dhabi-based fintech Dapi is implementing open banking APIs across the MENA region but faces regulatory licensing delays and technical challenges integrating with legacy banking systems to enable unified data access for banks and fintechs.

An update on UAE-based BNPL provider Tabby

Tabby is a UAE-based buy now, pay later provider offering instant credit to consumers shopping at online and offline retailers across the UAE and Saudi Arabia, with a user journey focused on structured financial accessibility.

Penser Explores Fintech Landscape in the Middle East

Penser explores the fintech landscape in the Middle East, examining the region's growth potential, innovation opportunities, and investment prospects while analyzing the challenges fintech companies face entering this emerging market.

Buy Now Pay Later: Tabby to launch in UAE shortly

Hosam Arab, former CEO of Namshi, founded Tabby, a UAE-based buy-now-pay-later startup that raised $2 million in seed funding to offer instant credit to consumers through banking partners for online and offline retail purchases.

DIFC announces $10m for FinTech investments

Dubai International Financial Centre (DIFC) has unveiled a $10 million fintech fund for startups across the Middle East and North Africa, with Khaled Talhouni from Wamda Capital expressing enthusiasm about the initiative as a catalyst for regional innovation.

The Central Bank of Kuwait focuses on FinTech

The Central Bank of Kuwait is advancing financial technology through four key initiatives: the Kuwait National Payment System, digital currency infrastructure, a regulatory sandbox for innovation, and e-payment systems for government services.

Gulf Robo Adviser Sarwa adds $1.3m funding

Sarwa, a Dubai-based robo advisory firm launched in December 2017, has secured $1.3 million in pre-series A funding, bringing its total funding to over $1.5 million since inception.