Marhaba, fintech friends!

For the past decade, fintech innovation in MENA lived in the front end: smooth apps, seamless interfaces, quick onboarding, and the likes. In parallel, the industry has been experiencing some serious maintenance beneath the surface: cross-border rails, blockchain, alternative credit models, instant payments, AI-enabled everything.

These structural changes beg the question: what does good UX do if it sits on outdated rails? Is interface the moat, or is it infrastructure?

If this week's (and the last few weeks') news is any indication, MENA's fintech ecosystem is firmly in its infrastructure era:
🚀 Tabby commits to deploy NVIDIA HGX systems to locally train its own AI models

🔗 ARP Digital and Bank of Bahrain & Kuwait introduce regulated stablecoin settlement for real-time cross-border transactions

🏛️ Bybit, Wise and Crypto.com secure UAE licenses under new virtual asset frameworks

⚙️ Ripple partners with Bahrain Fintech Bay to expand the Kingdom’s digital asset ecosystem

& lots of other exciting updates...

💸 Fundraises and Exits

🇹🇳 PayDay, a Tunisia-based fin/insurtech start-up offering salary-backed financing and micro-Takaful protection, raises an undisclosed pre-seed round at a $3 million valuation to scale its inclusive financial wellness platform across North Africa

🇦🇪🇸🇦 The UAE's Qashio acquires Saudi expense management platform, Sanad Cash, at an undisclosed value

🇸🇦 Tabsense, Saudi-based fintech, raises $5 million in a funding round led by Jasoor Ventures.

💰 Funds

🇦🇪 M2 Capital, UAE-HQ investment arm of M2 Group, invests $21 million in Canada's digital asset treasury firm, AVAX One.

🚀 Partnerships & Product Launches

Ripple partners with Bahrain Fintech Bay to develop and drive adoption in the Kingdom's digital asset ecosystem

The National Bank of Bahrain, Bahrain Islamic Bank, Bank of Bahrain and Kuwait and Benefit successfully pilot instant payments using digital commercial bank money on the Google Cloud Universal Ledger

Sarmad, a Saudi fintech building software for a range of financial services, launches thamar: a platform digitizing the customer experience for asset management firms

Abu Dhabi Airports partners with Al Hail Holding to explore next-gen payment solutions, including the design and pilot of a regulated digital wallet for inbound travellers

Riyadh Bank-powered Jeel signs an MoU with Switzerland's Synpulse to co-develop a new wealth management platform for the Saudi market

First Abu Dhabi Bank Misr partners with noon payments to enhance digital payment services and improve the e-commerce experience through integrated financial solutions

Singapore's Osome makes its UAE entry official with a new office in Dubai

Egyptian payments orchestrator, PayTabs, partners with Valu to introduce the Valu Merchant App, and Doha Bank to improve the e-commerce experience for merchants in Qatar

Wio Bank shares plans to integrate Wio Business into Abu Dhabi's unified government services platform, TAMM, to simplify business banking for entrepreneurs and SMEs across the Emirates

Bahrain's ARP, a digital asset firm, partners with stc Pay to serve as its settlement and digital-asset conversion partner in the GCC, while stc Pay serves as ARP’s terminating and collection partner across key global corridors

Qatar Airways travelers get flexible payment options, thanks to the airlines' partnership with global BNPL player, Klarna

Sygnum Bank Middle East launches Sygnum Validators from ADGM: a service that operates institutional-grade validator nodes for blockchain networks, allowing for non-custodial staking

Payment orchestrator, MoneyHash, partners with BNPL start-up, Tabby, allowing merchants to offer flexible payment options across the UAE and KSA through MoneyHash's unified API

ARP Digital and Bank of Bahrain and Kuwait collaborate to enhance cross-border settlement capabilities, introducing regulated stablecoin infrastructure for seamless transfer and conversion between digital assets and fiat currencies

Telemoney, Arab National Bank's money transfer service, partners with Mastercard to improve cross-border money transfers

US-based cross-border payment platform, Grey, expands to Morocco and Egypt with local currency payout services

Further Ventures, UAE-based institutional investment solutions provider, collaborates with Canadian digital asset manager, 3iQ to launch a digital asset multi-strategy hedge fund for institutional investors

Tabby commits to deploy NVIDIA HGX systems to host and train AI models locally in Saudi Arabia.

🏛 Licensing & Regulations

After receiving In-Principle Approval from the UAE's SCA in February, Bybit secures a Virtual Asset Platform Operator license, allowing the company to offer its full range of products across the UAE, including virtual asset trading, brokerage, custody and fiat conversion services

Crypto.com receives In-Principle Approval from the UAE Central Bank for a Stored Value Facilities license

Wise receives the UAE Central Bank's approval to roll out its products, including Wise Account and Wise Business, to individuals and business customers in the UAE

Saudi BNPL, Tamara, secures full regulatory approval from the UAE's Central Bank

Dubai approves the Dubai Financial Sector Strategy, which aims to double the financial sector's GDP contribution, grow AUM, improve capital markets and develop SME financial models.

Thank you for tuning in!

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Until next week,

Salam ✌🏼