The final day of Money 20/20 wrapped with a rapid-fire series of agreements, corporate investments, platform launches, and strategic partnerships. Highlights included the launch of the USD 100 mn Limitless Payments fund, the creation of the Jeel Sandbox, and a first-of-its-kind digital acceptance capability from Visa.

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INSIGHTS FROM THE INDUSTRY-

The future of asset management: Within five years, machines will provide a “major portion” of financial advice, especially for Gen Z, whose investment decisions are driven by values and purpose more than asset allocation or hitting a number in a bank account, Fintech Times quotes Vennre CEO Ziad Mabsout as saying in the Asset Management Reinvented fireside chat.

61% of Saudis plan to increase their online spending next year, mainly on food delivery, clothing, and fintech, Checkout.com’s MENA General Manager Remo Giovanni Abbondandolo told Asharq Business. The firm found that half of Saudis already use digital apps for money transfers, with food delivery the fastest-growing fintech segment as 48% plan to boost usage. Checkout.com’s business volume in the Kingdom has surged 3000% in five years.

Sukuk fintech Tarmeez Capital sees its sukuk issuances reaching SAR 10 bn in the next three years, its CEO Nasser Al-Saadoun told Asharq Business. The projection is based on last year’s 450% growth in issuance volume, a trend the company expects to continue.

FUNDING AND INVESTMENTS-

#1- Alinma Bank is investing an undisclosed sum in spending manager Qashio, adding Qashio to Alinma’s fintech portfolio alongside Amwal Tech, Ejari, Lean Technology, NearPay, and local VC funds, according to a press release. Alinma and Qashio also partnered to develop a spend management platform for SME and corporate clients, giving Alinma Bank access to Qashio’s loyalty ecosystem, which includes partners such as Emirates Skywards, Air France, KLM, and Jumeirah One.

#2- Automated Economy Company, the parent company of Sindbad.Tech, closed an SAR 18 mn seed investment round led by Alkhabeer Capital, according to a LinkedIn post.

#3- Riyadh-based fintech investment vehicle Limitless Payments was formed with an initial fund of USD 100 mn. It brings together Xpence, GC Partners, and Numito to manage payments and FX in high-growth markets, according to Fintech Times.

PAYMENTS AND E-COMMERCE-

#1- PIF-backed D360 Bank to offer global remittances through MoneyGram partnership: MoneyGram and Saudi digital bank D360 Bank inked an MoU to integrate MoneyGram’s global network with D360 Bank’s platform to provide its customers with cross-border payment and international remittance services., according to a press release.

#2- Mastercard and payment gateway provider HyperPay will issue commercial cards for businesses, merchants, and SMEs, starting in Saudi Arabia before expanding to the UAE and Qatar, it said in a pressrelease. HyperPay also secured an Electronic Money Institute (EMI) license and will integrate Mozn AI’s FOCAL platform to enhance digital transaction security, it said on X.

#3- PoS provider Nami locked in two partnerships, one with Tabby to integrate buy now, pay later services into its devices for access at checkout, it said on X. Nami will also collaborate with Karage to enable garages and workshops to use Nami’s PoS devices to run specialized management applications and process payments, it said in a separate post.

#4- Visa launched a first-of-its-kind “acceptance capability” in Saudi Arabia, targeting digital commerce for merchants, according to Fintech Times.

THE FINTECH ECOSYSTEM-

#1- Fintech Saudi partnered with Jeel, Riyad Bank’s tech accelerator, to launch the Jeel Sandbox, a secure testing environment for fintechs, startups, and financial institutions to develop and trial solutions using mock data, Saudi Gazette reports. The platform aims to speed up prototyping and validation, with future plans to support UAT and offer services like Banking-as-a-Service and Wallet-as-a-Service. It also partnered with Innovative Solutions to provide exclusive discounted services for fintech startups through Fintech Saudi Perks.

#2- 1957 Ventures and Saudi startup Lean Node joined forces to launch the Fintech & AI Foundry, a joint platform to help fintech and AI entrepreneurs develop their ideas into companies through programs like hackathons, development courses, and direct funding, it said on LinkedIn.

AI, BLOCKCHAIN AND OPEN BANKING-

Tadawul’s innovation arm, Wamid, clinched four new agreements: Three of the partnerships — with Saudi Awwal Bank, Lebara, and Zodia — will explore blockchain use cases in the financial market to reduce costs and improve investor access, its CEO Yazeed Al-Dumaiji told AlArabiya. The fourth, a collaboration with venture capital firm STV, aims to create a marketplace that provides liquidity for unlisted, pre-IPO companies.

INVESTMENT TECH-

Derayah Financial and Eddekhar to co-develop digital investment solutions for individuals under a fresh MoU that will enable Eddekhar’s clients to access Derayah Financial’s investment products and funds through the Eddekhar platform.

BANKING, CORPORATE AND SME SOLUTIONS-

#1- Bank Aljazira signed three agreements to improve operations, partnering with GO Telecom to upgrade its telecom infrastructure, along with SingleView and Bwatech to implement cash and liquidity management solutions, it said in a press release.

#2- Arat and Zamil Group’s Al Aswa Al Hasan Company inked an MoU to provide tailored financial products for the nonprofit and endowment sector.

#3- SILQFi launched Omni, an embedded finance platform for SMEs that integrates point-of-sale, procurement, payments, and credit access into a single interface, according to Fintech Times.

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