Ooredoo Fintech Integrates Western Union to Boost Remittance Options in Qatar
Ooredoo Fintech has partnered with Western Union to embed the global money‑transfer service into its Ooredoo Money app, launching the feature in Qatar. The integration gives users access to Western Union’s network spanning more than 200 countries, expanding remittance options beyond traditional digital wallets. The rollout is the first phase of a broader regional plan across Ooredoo’s MENA markets. Executives from both firms highlighted the move as a step toward greater financial inclusion and convenience for consumers.
Osaka Exchange Taps Nasdaq for Next-Gen Derivatives Trading and Surveillance Tech
Osaka Exchange (OSE), the derivatives arm of Japan Exchange Group, has chosen Nasdaq’s Eqlipse Trading and Market Surveillance platforms to overhaul its trading and surveillance infrastructure. The new system replaces legacy technology with ultra‑low latency, multi‑asset capabilities and AI‑driven market‑abuse...
Taranis Capital Secures DFSA Acknowledgement for New ‘Disruptive Tech Fund’
Taranis Capital Limited has secured formal acknowledgement from the Dubai Financial Services Authority for its newly created Taranis Disruptive Tech Fund LP. The fund, filed in November 2025, targets high‑impact technologies such as artificial intelligence, digital infrastructure, fintech, advanced analytics...
Papaya Global Partners with Fireblocks to Launch Stablecoin-Powered Workforce Wallet
Papaya Global has introduced Banco Wallet, a global workforce wallet that settles cross‑border payroll instantly using stablecoins. The solution, built on Fireblocks’ enterprise‑grade digital‑asset infrastructure, lets employers pay employees in fiat or stablecoins without changing bank accounts. It targets workers...
Vennre Secures $9.6m Pre-Series A to Open Private Markets to MENA’s ‘HENRYs’
Fintech platform Vennre announced a $9.6 million pre‑Series A round, co‑led by Vision Ventures and anb seed fund, with participation from Sanabil 500, Ace & Co, Plus VC and strategic investors. The hybrid equity‑debt financing will fund the digitisation of private‑market access for MENA’s high‑earning, not‑yet‑rich...
Lloyds Banking Group Targets Over £100m Value From ‘Next Gen’ AI in 2026
Lloyds Banking Group aims to generate more than £100 million of value from artificial‑intelligence initiatives by 2026, doubling the £50 million realised in 2025. The bank is moving from generative AI projects to "agentic" AI, deploying autonomous agents that can act on...
ADX Kicks Off 2026 with Region’s First Luxury-Focused ETF Listing
The Abu Dhabi Securities Exchange (ADX) launched the region’s first luxury‑focused exchange‑traded fund, the Boreas S&P Absolute Luxury UCITS ETF, marking the first financial listing of 2026. The fund tracks the S&P Europe Luxury 35/20 Capped Index and provides exposure...
ClearBank and Volt Partner to Bring Open Banking Closer to ‘Card Parity’
ClearBank has teamed up with real‑time payments platform Volt to launch GBP and EUR merchant accounts powered by ClearBank’s cloud‑native infrastructure. The new accounts provide virtual IBANs, named accounts and full lifecycle features such as automated reconciliation, fund attribution and...
Open Banking Faces Imminent Decision on Its Next Chapter
Smart Data Group (SDG) is urging the UK’s open‑banking ecosystem to adopt an independent, industry‑led “Future Entity” as the FCA reviews its long‑term regulatory framework. The proposal separates design and mobilisation from governance, promising a lean structure that can deliver...
GCC Tokenisation Market Set to Hit $500bn by 2030
A Kearney‑Ctrl Alt report projects GCC real‑world asset tokenisation to unlock nearly $500 billion by 2030, as the global on‑chain RWA market surges from $1.1 billion in 2023 to $20 billion by early 2026. The study highlights rapid movement from pilots to regulated...
PayPoint’s Merchant Rentals Taps EIT to Expand Payment Terminal Options
Merchant Rentals, a PayPoint Group subsidiary, has signed a strategic partnership with European Information Technology (EIT) to broaden its payment‑terminal portfolio. The collaboration adds vendor‑agnostic devices from Castles, PAX and Verifone to Merchant Rentals’ financing catalogue, giving merchants greater choice....
Allica Bank Slashes Commercial Mortgage and Bridging Rates to Take on High Street Banks
Allica Bank, a challenger lender for established UK businesses, announced up to a 1.3 per cent cut to its commercial mortgage and bridging rates to rival high‑street banks. The reduction is part of a broader product simplification that also lowers prices...
Transforming Justice: The Digital Revolution in Abu Dhabi
The Abu Dhabi Global Market (ADGM) Courts have completed a full digital overhaul, moving to paperless e‑filing, AI‑assisted case routing, and virtual hearings. Linda Fitz‑Alan, CEO and Registrar, explained how the new platform cuts processing times by up to 40%...
Mastercard Roundtable: Stablecoins Graduate From Crypto Curiosity to Bank-Grade Infrastructure
At a Mastercard‑hosted roundtable in Dubai, senior executives from banks, fintechs and regulators declared that stablecoins have moved beyond speculative hype to become a regulated, bank‑grade payment infrastructure. The discussion highlighted Circle’s USDC pilot with Mastercard to settle acquirer transactions...
Zepz Acquires Pomelo to Push Beyond Remittances Into Credit Cards
Zepz, the parent of WorldRemit and Sendwave, has completed the acquisition of Pomelo, a fintech that offers a credit‑card‑linked remittance product. The deal enables Zepz to move beyond pure cross‑border payments into credit, lending and broader financial‑services offerings. Pomelo’s platform...
ClearScore Acquires Acre Platforms to Accelerate Mortgage Expansion
ClearScore Group has bought Acre Platforms Ltd, the UK’s fastest‑growing mortgage intermediary platform. The deal will integrate Acre’s data‑driven CRM and broker‑routing technology with ClearScore’s 16 million‑strong user base, creating a seamless pipeline for mortgage applications. This follows ClearScore’s earlier purchase...
ADX Taps Saal.ai to Build AI-Powered Market Data Platform
The Abu Dhabi Securities Exchange (ADX) announced a partnership with AI specialist Saal.ai to develop a next‑generation, AI‑powered market data dissemination platform. The new system will replace ADX’s legacy infrastructure with a unified, scalable solution that delivers real‑time and periodic...
Armenia’s Fintech Awakening Is an ‘Open Goal’ the UK Cannot Afford to Miss
FinTech Armenia’s CEO Stefan Lucas urges the United Kingdom to view Armenia as an emerging fintech hub and an “open goal” for British investment. He highlights a recent UK‑Armenia strategic partnership, a near‑finalized peace framework with Azerbaijan, and a surge...
Nigeria: From Policy Reform to Regulatory Enforcement in the Race for a $1T Economy
Nigeria has transitioned from policy‑focused reforms to active regulatory enforcement as it pursues a $1 trillion economy. Between 2022 and 2025 the government passed the Nigeria Startup Act, Electricity Act and the 2025 Investments and Securities Act, which are now being...
Invest Qatar Showcases Ecosystem Growth at Web Summit Qatar 2026 via Startup Qatar Pavilion
Invest Qatar will host the Startup Qatar Pavilion at Web Summit Qatar 2026, highlighting the nation’s fast‑growing entrepreneurial ecosystem. The pavilion will unite key agencies such as QFZ, QFC, MCIT, QDB and Media City Qatar to streamline setup, licensing, funding...
London Reforms Set to Spark IPO Surge After Historic Slump, Says deVere
London has introduced sweeping capital‑markets reforms that replace EU‑era prospectus rules with a new Public Offers and Admissions to Trading regime. The changes aim to simplify listings, cut disclosure costs and speed deal timelines after a historic IPO drought –...
TrueLayer and Stripe Tap Into Finnish E-Commerce with Kustom Checkout Deal
TrueLayer and Stripe have extended their Pay by Bank service to Finland by embedding it in Kustom’s checkout platform. The rollout instantly equips more than 24,000 Kustom merchants with a direct‑bank payment option that eliminates card details. Finland’s high online‑banking...
GoHenry Launches Free Financial Education Lessons on YouTube to Bridge Curriculum Gap
GoHenry, the UK‑focused children’s money app, has released more than 80 bite‑sized financial education videos on its YouTube channel, offered free to the public. The lessons, adapted from its in‑app “Money Missions,” cover budgeting, saving, compound interest and investing, and...
Global Asset Manager Mirae Asset Eyes Fund Tokenisation in UAE with Ctrl Alt Deal
Mirae Asset Global Investments, managing over $350 billion, signed an MoU with UAE fintech Ctrl Alt to explore tokenising investment funds. The partnership will develop a compliant framework for issuing and managing tokenised funds under the UAE’s VARA regulations, starting with...
Maximise Return on Equity Through Data Mediation
Audax Financial Technology urges banks to adopt embedded finance and become data mediators to lift stagnant return on equity. While China and Korea have already scaled such models, most global banks are still in the early, ‘jogging’ phase of a...
DLocal Powers HONOR’s Peru Debut as E-Commerce Sales Set to Hit $59.5bn
Cross‑border payments platform dLocal has partnered with Chinese AI device maker HONOR to launch the brand’s first website in Peru. The deal gives HONOR access to a suite of local payment methods—including credit‑card installments, bank transfers, cash and the Yape...
Nationwide Taps Moneyhub to Bring AI Spending Insights to 16 Million Members
Nationwide Building Society has partnered with Moneyhub to embed its AI‑driven categorisation and enrichment engine across its 16 million UK members. The technology will transform raw transaction data into granular insights, delivering detailed merchant information, location tags and real‑time fraud alerts....
Transforming EDI with AI: Faster, Smarter, Scalable
Artificial intelligence is reshaping electronic data interchange by adding speed, flexibility, and intelligence to a technology that has long been hampered by rigid formats and manual error handling. AI‑driven platforms such as Comarch EDI now offer real‑time validation, automated data...
ANNA Money Secures £10m to Scale AI ‘Auto Accountant’ as MTD Deadline Looms
ANNA Money has raised £10 million in growth debt from Flashpoint Ventures to accelerate its AI‑driven “Auto Accountant” platform. The fintech now reports £30 million in annual recurring revenue and serves over 50,000 UK small businesses each month. Its proprietary AI already...
Thunes and UnionPay International Launch Instant Transfers to Mainland China
Thunes has partnered with UnionPay International to create a direct technical link that enables instant, pay‑to‑card transfers into mainland China. The integration routes funds in RMB straight to UnionPay debit cards across 79 major Chinese banks, delivering real‑time or within‑12‑hour...
Dotfile and Bastion Partner to Bring AI-Powered Compliance to Enterprise Stablecoins
Dotfile, an AI AML compliance platform, has partnered with Bastion, a NYDFS‑regulated stablecoin provider, to deliver an AI‑powered onboarding and risk‑management solution for enterprise‑grade stablecoins. The joint offering combines comprehensive KYC/KYB verification, automated sanctions and PEP screening, and multi‑jurisdictional due‑diligence...
The Rise of Digital Assets: A Conversation with Yoni Assia
In a Fintech Times podcast recorded at Abu Dhabi Finance Week, eToro co‑founder and CEO Yoni Assa discusses the broker’s transformation from a traditional‑finance pioneer to a leading digital‑assets platform. He outlines how eToro expanded its offering to more than...
NEO PAY and Wio Bank Join Forces to Streamline SME Financing in the UAE
UAE payment provider NEO PAY has teamed up with digital bank Wio Bank PJSC to launch a point‑of‑sale (PoS) lending product for small and medium‑sized enterprises. The solution taps real‑time sales data from merchants’ PoS terminals to deliver fast working‑capital...
US Senate CLARITY Act Stalls Over Stablecoin Yield Restrictions
The U.S. Senate Banking Committee postponed the markup of the Digital Asset Market Clarity Act after key industry figures, including Coinbase CEO Brian Armstrong, withdrew support. Central to the dispute is a proposed GENIUS amendment that would bar exchanges from...
UK CFOs Facing ‘Automation Deficit’ as Fragmented Systems Stall Progress
Corpay’s new research of 150 UK CFOs uncovers an "automation deficit" – while 99% plan to automate finance by 2025, fragmented legacy systems stall progress. Integration challenges top the list, cited by 47% of respondents, followed by resistance to change...
ADIB Names Winners of UAE Cybersecurity Innovation Challenge to Drive Digital Resilience
Abu Dhabi Islamic Bank (ADIB) announced the three winners of its UAE Cybersecurity Innovation Challenge—Corgea, Nothreat and DTEX Systems—selected from more than 50 global applicants. The competition, run with the UAE Cyber Security Council and DIFC Innovation Hub, featured 10...
IXOPAY Launches ‘Token-First’ Packages to Tackle Payment Stack Fragmentation
IXOPAY introduced three TokenEx tokenization packages—Core, Connect and Alternative Payments—to make token‑first payments the default for enterprise merchants. The bundles aim to curb payment‑stack fragmentation, lower PCI‑DSS scope and eliminate processor‑owned token lock‑in. Core provides universal tokens, Connect adds 20+...
Open Banking Limited Marks 8 Years as Usage Surges to 33 Million Monthly Payments
Open Banking Limited celebrated its eighth anniversary, highlighting that open banking has moved from a regulatory mandate to a core UK financial infrastructure. The latest data shows 33 million account‑to‑account payments in November 2025 and more than 16.5 million active user connections. The...
First Abu Dhabi Bank Launches ‘World-First’ Fitness and Payment Ring with Mastercard
First Abu Dhabi Bank (FAB) has introduced the FAB Rewards Active Credit Card, a joint venture with Mastercard that bundles a contactless payment ring with fitness tracking. The ring uses tokenisation technology from Tappy and syncs with the FAB Mobile...
UK Tech Funding Drops 11% in 2025, but Late-Stage Capital Remains Resilient
UK tech companies raised $15.3 billion in 2025, an 11 percent drop from the previous year, yet the market retained its rank as the world’s second‑largest tech funding hub behind the United States. Deal volume contracted 35 percent, but late‑stage financing proved resilient,...
Ziina and Lean Technologies Execute UAE’s First Live Customer-Initiated Open Finance Payment
Lean Technologies and UAE payments platform Ziina have completed the country’s first live customer‑initiated Open Finance payment. The transaction, run under the Central Bank of the UAE’s Open Finance framework, lets users move money instantly between bank accounts via regulated...
ProgressSoft Secures Business Banking Win at FF Awards 2025
ProgressSoft, a global real‑time payment provider, won the Business Banking category at the 2025 FF Awards in London. The award recognizes its Corporate Banking Suite, which unifies real‑time payments, liquidity, cash management, trade finance and automated workflows on a modular,...
Punjab Provincial Cooperative Bank Taps AlHuda CIBE for Islamic Banking Overhaul
Punjab Provincial Cooperative Bank Limited (PPCBL) has signed an advisory agreement with the AlHuda Center of Islamic Banking and Economics (AlHuda CIBE) to convert its operations to a fully Shariah‑compliant model. The Dubai‑signed pact outlines end‑to‑end support, including a Shariah...
Indonesia’s Payment Revolution: Behind the Breathless Rise of QRIS and the Road to 2030
Stanchion Payments’ latest Voices from the Market report highlights Indonesia’s QRIS as the cornerstone of its fast‑growing mobile‑first payment ecosystem. The QR code standard now connects tens of millions of consumers with more than 30 million merchants, enabling sub‑second transactions and...
Do Digital Payments Really Promote Financial Inclusion? What the Evidence Shows
Academic research shows digital payment platforms can expand access to basic financial services, especially in developing economies, by lowering distance, time, and transaction costs. However, technology alone does not guarantee inclusion; reliable mobile connectivity, affordable devices, and digital skills are...
Fintech Awards London 2026 Launches at House of Lords with S&W as New Headline Sponsor
The Fintech Awards London 2026 officially launched at an exclusive ceremony in the House of Lords, signalling the sector’s growing prominence. S&W announced its partnership with Aon as a new headline sponsor, underscoring confidence in the UK fintech ecosystem. The...
DFSA Shifts to Firm-Led Assessment in Major Crypto Token Framework Update
On 12 January 2026 the Dubai Financial Services Authority (DFSA) rolled out a major amendment to its crypto‑token regime in the Dubai International Financial Centre. The update eliminates the regulator’s central “Recognised Crypto Tokens” list and requires firms offering trading, custody or...
MariBank Launches S$1 Physical Gold Investment Fund for Singapore
Digital bank MariBank, a Sea Limited subsidiary, has introduced Mari Invest Gold, a physical gold fund with a S$1 minimum investment. The product, backed by Lion Global Investors and custodied by Standard Chartered, stores 99.5% pure gold bars in Singapore...
Cross River Selected as Initial Banking Partner for Visa’s Stablecoin Settlement Pilot
Cross River Bank has been chosen as the inaugural banking partner for Visa’s stablecoin settlement pilot, which will settle Visa card transactions using Circle’s USDC on the Solana blockchain. Partnering with technology provider Highnote, the program moves stablecoin settlement from...
ACE Money Transfer Leverages Irish License for Strategic European Expansion
ACE Money Transfer, a UK‑based remittance firm, is using its Irish payment‑institution licence to launch a pan‑European expansion. Regulated by the Central Bank of Ireland, the company plans to replicate its Irish growth across the continent under the EU Payment...
