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Fintech reporting from Middle East. Stories across banking, payments, infrastructure, capital and policy that touch this region.

136 STORIES PUBLISHED · UPDATED DAILY

MIDDLE EAST · 3 MIN READ · 14 OCT 2026

Saudi Super-App barq to Absorb Bahrain’s Beyon Money, Gaining Its Licences

The telecoms group's wallet will become part of barq, which says the deal is about Beyon Money's regulatory licences. No terms were disclosed.

MIDDLE EAST

Standard Chartered Holds Ripple’s RLUSD Stablecoin for Clients in Dubai, Plans LMAX Collateral Link

14 OCT 2026

MIDDLE EAST

Fintech Takes $1.03 Billion, or 62%, of MENA Startup Funding in Q3 2026

14 OCT 2026

136 STORIES

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MIDDLE EAST

Kraken Wins Full Dubai Licence and Plans Dirham Crypto Trading Within Weeks

VARA's register shows Kraken's parent was licensed on 6 October, a week before the announcement and after preliminary approval in May.

13 OCT 2026

MIDDLE EAST

Qatar Opens Riyal Government Bonds and Sukuk to Global Investors Through Euroclear

Qatar Central Bank (QCB) and Euroclear are setting up a settlement link that will let international investors buy and hold Qatari riyal government bonds and sukuk through Euroclear Bank, the two announced on 5 October.

7 OCT 2026

MIDDLE EAST

Gulf Workers Sent a Record $161 Billion Abroad in 2025, More Than the US

GCC-Stat data show outward remittances rose 13.6%, with the UAE the largest sender as payment links to India and other corridors are still being built.

7 OCT 2026

MIDDLE EAST

Dubai’s VARA Sets Minimum Scope for Crypto Firms’ Proof-of-Reserve Audits After 2025 Review

The regulator has told auditors what they must check on client crypto holdings, and signed an intelligence-sharing deal with the UAE's financial intelligence unit.

7 OCT 2026

MIDDLE EAST

NEOPAY to Buy 65% of noon payments, Taking UAE Acquirer Into Saudi Arabia and Egypt

The Arcapita and DgPays-backed merchant acquirer is buying control of the payments arm of e-commerce group noon. The price has not been disclosed.

7 OCT 2026

MIDDLE EAST

Ant International Moves Dirhams on HSBC’s Tokenised Deposit Network in UAE Pilot

It is the third global bank tokenised-deposit move in the UAE in ten days, and the only one so far to move dirhams.

7 OCT 2026

MIDDLE EAST

UAE Central Bank Signs Deals With Egypt, Syria and Morocco in Five Days

The Morocco agreement adds a third country to the CBUAE's plans to link national instant payment systems, none of which is live yet.

5 OCT 2026

MIDDLE EAST

Citi Takes Its Tokenised Deposit Network Live in the UAE and Japan

The bank's blockchain service, moving close to $1 billion a day in May, now runs in seven markets, with UAE clients able to move dollars and euros around the clock.

5 OCT 2026

MIDDLE EAST

China Securities Opens DIFC Office as Dubai Builds Capital Markets Links With China

The Beijing investment bank joins seven Chinese lenders in the Dubai centre, weeks after Dubai and Hong Kong regulators set up a joint working group.

29 SEP 2026

MIDDLE EAST

Belgium’s Banqup Built the UAE Tax Authority’s E-Invoice Reporting Hub Ahead of 2027 Mandate

The Euronext-listed firm built the node that will receive tax data on every B2B invoice once the UAE's rules take effect for large companies in January.

29 SEP 2026

MIDDLE EAST

Saudi Entrepreneur Al-Salloum Acquires 10% Stake in UAE’s GlobalPay

GlobalPay's own leadership confirmed the holding company carries no UAE central bank licence and that the deal's value is confidential.

29 SEP 2026

MIDDLE EAST

Five Minutes With… David Ogg, Vice Chairman of MEX Exchange

HotspotFX founder David Ogg on how MEX Exchange keeps its matching independent of MultiBank's CFD brokerage, why sanctioned BRICS entities can't join, and why the ECN won't name the GCC banks trading on it.

29 SEP 2026