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

145 STORIES PUBLISHED · UPDATED DAILY

MIDDLE EAST · 2 MIN READ · 19 AUG 2026

Deribit Gets a VARA Licence That Wires It Into Coinbase’s Order Book

Deribit, the crypto derivatives exchange Coinbase acquired for roughly $2.9 billion, has secured a Broker-Dealer Licence from Dubai's Virtual Assets Regulatory Authority (VARA), Coinbase announced on 13 August 2026.

MIDDLE EAST

Flowdesk and ARP Digital Secure Full VARA Broker-Dealer Licences in Dubai

14 AUG 2026

MIDDLE EAST

Abu Dhabi Securities Exchange Opens Live Market Data to ChatGPT and Claude, a MENA First

13 AUG 2026

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MIDDLE EAST

Spare Partners with Tabadulat on Pay-by-Bank Investment Funding

The integration replaces card-based deposits and withdrawals on the Shariah-compliant brokerage's platform with regulated account-to-account payments.

12 AUG 2026

MIDDLE EAST

Coinbase Wins ADGM Approval for Tokenised Securities Hub in Abu Dhabi

The Financial Services Regulatory Authority granted Coinbase permission to arrange and custody tokenised securities, alongside a separate prospectus approval for certificates tied to Apple stock.

12 AUG 2026

MIDDLE EAST

Dubai Duty Free Launches Crypto.com Pay Across UAE Airports

The retailer becomes the first airport operator in the Middle East to accept the payment method, built on the same Central Bank licence behind Emirates' own Crypto.com Pay rollout.

11 AUG 2026

MIDDLE EAST

MultiBank Group’s Naser Taher Named to Forbes Middle East’s Top 100 CEOs 2026

The founder and executive chairman was separately recognised at the Golden Excellence Awards for FinTech, Digital Asset and Blockchain Excellence, presented by Sheikh Nahyan bin Mubarak Al Nahyan.

11 AUG 2026

MIDDLE EAST

BHM Capital Becomes First UAE Market Maker on Kazakhstan’s Astana Exchange via Tabadul

BHM Capital has become the first UAE financial institution to connect to Kazakhstan's Astana International Exchange as a Market Making Member, via ADX's Tabadul platform.

11 AUG 2026

MIDDLE EAST

OORI Receives Saudi CMA Licence to Operate a Private Markets Platform

OORI, a Riyadh-based investment platform focused on private markets, has received a licence from Saudi Arabia's Capital Market Authority (CMA) to conduct Arranging and Advising activities, the company announced on 10 August 2026.

10 AUG 2026

MIDDLE EAST

Tether’s Hadron Platform to Tokenise Institutional Real Estate in Saudi Arabia

The deal pairs Tether's tokenisation technology with a local commercial operator and an integration partner, landing in a market that already has its own real estate tokenisation framework.

10 AUG 2026

MIDDLE EAST

Nomura’s Laser Digital Backs ZIGChain in $100m UAE Credit Push

Laser Digital is structuring and overseeing risk for ZIGChain's onchain credit vaults, targeting $100 million in total value locked by end-November.

6 AUG 2026

MIDDLE EAST

Edenred UAE Wins In-Principle Approval for CBUAE Licence for Payroll Cards

The approval formalises an 18-year-old salary-card business serving 2.5 million employees, rather than launching a new product.

6 AUG 2026

MIDDLE EAST

Mastercard and AFS Launch Corporate Cards in UAE, With Egypt to Follow

The launch is AFS's first UAE product since securing a Central Bank licence in June, and Mastercard's third UAE corporate-card tie-up this year.

5 AUG 2026

MIDDLE EAST

Emirates NBD to Acquire HSBC’s Retail Banking Business in Egypt

The deal extends a broader pattern on both sides: HSBC's retreat from retail banking in markets where it lacks scale, and Emirates NBD's second major international acquisition this summer.

4 AUG 2026

MIDDLE EAST

UAE Banks Defer AED13.5bn in Loans Under Central Bank’s Resilience Package

The deferral total has more than doubled since May, with large corporates receiving two-thirds of the value despite making up under 1% of beneficiaries by headcount.

3 AUG 2026