Saudi digital wallet tiqmo partners with MoneyGram
With this integration, tiqmo customers will gain access to more than 5 billion digital endpoints and over 480,000 MoneyGram locations worldwide, supporting send and receive options in over 120 currencies. Additionally, tiqmo provides a range of international financial services including bank account transfers, digital wallet transfers, cash pick-up, bill payments and mobile top-ups.
tiqmo is one of the fastest-growing apps in Saudi Arabia, licensed by the Saudi Central Bank. Since its launch in 2024, tiqmo has rapidly established itself as a leading digital wallet in Saudi Arabia, and across the Middle East and North Africa region. Trusted by millions of users, tiqmo selected MoneyGram as its cross-border payments partner due to the breadth of its extensive global reach, trusted infrastructure and strong footprint in Saudi Arabia — one of the world's largest remittance markets.
'We believe that our partnership with MoneyGram will strengthen tiqmo's portfolio of international financial services and connect our customers with a payment brand known around the world,' said Abdulaziz Al-Ajlan, managing director at tiqmo. 'In line with Vision 2030 and the Kingdom's digital transformation objectives and in pursuit of our goal to redefine digital financial services, we are delighted to welcome MoneyGram into our world-class digital payments ecosystem for the MENA financial services and marketplace.'
'This partnership reflects MoneyGram's leadership in enabling digital cross-border payments and advancing financial inclusion across the region,' said Ahmed Aly, head of Middle East, South Asia and Asia Pacific at MoneyGram. 'By expanding our digital network through this collaboration with tiqmo — one of the Kingdom's most innovative and fast-growing wallets — we are reinforcing our role as a key enabler of remittance innovation and supporting Saudi Arabia's Vision 2030 toward a more inclusive and digitally empowered financial ecosystem.'
According to the World Bank, Saudia Arabia was the second largest sender of remittances in 2022, with more than $39 billion flowing abroad. This new service is expected to benefit customers sending money to top recipient countries, such India, Pakistan, Bangladesh, the Philippines, Egypt, Indonesia and Nepal.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Arab News
2 hours ago
- Arab News
Lean Technologies poised to capitalize on open finance boom
RIYADH: Lean Technologies is gearing up to seize new opportunities as Saudi Arabia and the UAE roll out major regulatory reforms poised to transform the region's financial services landscape. With the introduction of payment initiation services and open finance frameworks expected over the next 18 months, the company is entering a pivotal stage in its efforts to build the digital infrastructure underpinning financial innovation across the Gulf. 'We're heads down right now focused on the rollout of the two regulatory updates,' said Hisham Al-Falih, CEO of Lean Technologies, in an interview with Arab News. 'These are both massive opportunities we've been waiting for since the beginning,' he said, referring to the upcoming rollout of open finance in the UAE and payment initiation services in Saudi Arabia. The company collaborates closely with regulators and financial institutions to provide secure, compliant connectivity that supports a variety of applications — from onboarding and credit scoring to payment processing and account verification. Founded in 2019, Lean Technologies set out to bridge critical infrastructure gaps that had long stifled fintech innovation across the region. Al-Falih, who returned to Saudi Arabia after several years in Silicon Valley, was struck by the lack of digital financial services in a market marked by high mobile penetration, a youthful population, and a growing venture capital ecosystem. 'There was a big gap in the market when it came to accessing consumer data and accessing cutting-edge payment capabilities,' he said. Lean's core offering enables businesses to access consumer-authorized bank data and real-time payment services within a fully regulated framework. The company collaborates closely with regulators and financial institutions to provide secure, compliant connectivity that supports a variety of applications — from onboarding and credit scoring to payment processing and account verification. Since its inception, Lean has partnered with over 300 enterprise clients and financial institutions across the UAE and Saudi Arabia. It currently handles more than $2 billion in transaction volume and projects reaching $2 billion in annualized volume in the UAE alone by the end of the year. Lean's momentum was further strengthened by a high-profile funding round in 2023, bringing its total capital raised to over $100 million since inception. The latest round included a $67.5 million investment led by global investors such as Sequoia Capital, General Catalyst, and Bain Capital Ventures. Although Al-Falih did not disclose Lean's valuation or confirm unicorn status, he emphasized that the company is 'very well funded for the foreseeable future' and remains focused on execution rather than fundraising. Future plans include deeper regulatory engagement, product innovation, and long-term preparation for a potential IPO. 'We want to do what's right for our stakeholders,' Al-Falih said. One of Lean's immediate priorities is guiding clients through upcoming regulatory changes in Saudi Arabia and the UAE. These regulatory shifts extend regulated access beyond traditional bank accounts to encompass a wider range of financial data, including loans, insurance, and investments. Al-Falih explained that while open banking provides third parties with secure, user-consented access to bank account data, open finance broadens this access to include additional financial products such as investments, loans, savings, and insurance. He described this as a natural progression from open banking, which has already enabled consumers to safely share banking data with third-party providers. The advantages of this expanded data access are already evident. Lean's platform supports clients across diverse sectors including lending, e-commerce, trading, and insurance. For instance, buy now, pay later provider Tabby integrated Lean's platform to reduce customer application times from days to minutes, enhancing credit decisions through real-time bank data access. Talabat utilized Lean to automate vendor payouts and customer refunds, boosting operational efficiency. employed Lean's account verification tools to cut onboarding drop-off rates by 30 percent and reduce transaction costs by 20 percent. 'These are companies that are benefiting from our underwriting capabilities, our onboarding flows, and our payment capabilities,' Al-Falih said. Lean also serves an advisory role within the regulatory ecosystem, actively collaborating with financial authorities across the Gulf to offer technical insights and ensure alignment with evolving compliance frameworks. 'We've been working closely with central banks and associated parties in the ecosystem to provide our feedback,' he said. The company holds a license from the Financial Services Regulatory Authority at Abu Dhabi Global Market and is preparing for direct oversight by the Central Bank of the UAE. Lean is also System and Organization Controls 2 compliant and has made significant investments in cybersecurity infrastructure to safeguard its platform. SOC 2 is a compliance standard developed by the American Institute of CPAs that focuses on the security of a service organization's systems and controls related to handling customer data. 'We have invested literally millions of dollars in our cybersecurity posture and maturity,' Al-Falih noted. 'This is a responsibility that end users are endowing on us, and we don't take that lightly.' Despite strong uptake among enterprise clients, Al-Falih acknowledged that open banking remains relatively unfamiliar to the general public. 'Sometimes we mistake terminology with adoption,' he said. The CEO noted that open banking is often embedded in everyday digital experiences — such as bank transfers, wallet top-ups, and online onboarding— even if consumers are unaware of the infrastructure behind it. Trust, he added, remains crucial to user adoption. Lean has observed that consumers are more likely to opt in to open banking services when these are offered through well-known, established brands. 'The highest conversion comes from merchants that are already a trusted brand,' he said. While user interface design and clear communication play a role in driving adoption, Al-Falih emphasized that technical performance and strong security credentials are ultimately the most critical factors. Looking ahead, Lean is exploring the convergence of artificial intelligence and digital assets as a new frontier for innovation. The company sees promising use cases for generative AI in helping consumers better manage their finances, as well as for stablecoin technologies that could lower transaction costs and improve the speed of digital payments. Al-Falih pointed to the rise of agentic AI — autonomous systems capable of making decisions on behalf of users — as a potential game-changer in personal finance. Such tools, he said, could one day optimize account activity in real time based on an individual's risk profile and financial goals. While Lean has not yet announced specific products in this space, Al-Falih confirmed that the company is actively exploring how to integrate these technologies into its platform to deliver greater long-term value to users. Despite the company's progress, Al-Falih emphasized that Lean's mission is far from complete. 'We don't feel anywhere near like the mission is complete,' he said. 'There's still a very long way ahead of us.'
Arab News
3 hours ago
- Arab News
flyadeal announces solid H1 2025 performance
flyadeal, Saudi Arabia's fast-growing low-cost carrier, has announced half-year performance figures that have exceeded growth expectations, with milestones and achievements topped by becoming the world's most punctual airline in June. Compared with the first half of 2024, the six months to June 2025 saw passenger numbers increase 25 percent to just over 5 million, outstripping the 21 percent seat capacity growth. With 33,400 flights operated — 200 daily for the first time since flyadeal's inception in 2017 — thanks largely to a near 60 percent increase in the number of routes flown during the six months, the airline surpassed the industry average for best on-time performance of any low-cost Middle East airline for six consecutive months. Compared with the first half of 2024, the six months to June 2025 saw passenger numbers increase 25 percent to just over 5 million, outstripping the 21 percent seat capacity growth. In June, flyadeal was acclaimed for being the world's most punctual airline, achieving 91.77 percent operational performance based on flights within 15 minutes of scheduled arrival. Operational highlights for January-June 2025 over the same period in 2024: • Number of passengers carried rose 25 percent to 5.05 million • Seat capacity increased 21 percent • Total flights operated were up 20 percent to 33,400 • Number of routes flown went up 57 percent to 127 from three bases in the Kingdom • Fleet grew by five aircraft to 39 • Most punctual airline in the world with on-time performance peaking at 91.77 percent • Six consecutive months as the best Middle East low-cost airline for punctuality • Launched scheduled flights to Pakistan signaling first move into South Asia Key milestones and achievements in H1 2025: • Joined sister airline Saudia's AlFursan loyalty scheme for members to earn and redeem miles on flyadeal flights • Historic order for 10 Airbus A330 widebody aircraft for long-haul flying • Graduation of first 10 of 150 cadet pilots under a new Saudi government scholarship program • flyadeal announced Saudi cabin crew to be trained as certified tour guides in a ground-breaking regional initiative • flyadeal joined industry body International Air Transport Association • Headcount rose 21 percent to 1,600 employees Steven Greenway, flyadeal CEO, said: 'The 2025 first-half performance demonstrated flyadeal's ongoing commitment to growth in both passengers flown and available seat capacity. But more importantly, our business evolved with a continued focus on core values of operating as a low-cost airline, at high efficiency and with service excellence.' 'With the number of routes flown increase by almost 60 percent compared with the six corresponding months of 2024, we achieved 200 daily flights for the first time in June. As the fleet reached 39 aircraft, our milestone 40th has just been delivered in July giving us more capacity to increase frequency on existing services and add new destinations.' He added: 'Achieving status as the world's most punctual airline in June was indicative of our commitment to operational excellence while increasing capacity. The introduction of scheduled flights to Karachi in Pakistan — our first move into South Asia — and the addition of Istanbul's second airport of Sabiha Gökçen and Alexandria as our fourth year-round destination in Egypt, is evident of our approach to introduce new markets and strengthen existing ones. 'As we look forward to the coming months of boosting our network including adding Islamabad, Sialkot and Peshawar to boost our Pakistan operations, we are on course for year-end to reach another milestone of 40 million passengers carried since our very first flight.'
Arab News
4 hours ago
- Arab News
Saudi real estate expo ‘SEREDO 2025' to open in Jeddah on Sept. 9
The Saudi Expo Real Estate Development and Ownership 2025 exhibition will take place in Jeddah from Sept. 9-11 at Jeddah Superdome under the patronage of the Ministry of Municipalities and Housing. The third edition of SEREDO 2025 represents the first real estate investment destination in the Jeddah governorate. It will witness the participation of a large group of real estate companies, banks and financial institutions, who will showcase the latest residential projects and financing offers that will increase the rate of home ownership among citizens to 70 percent, which is what Saudi Vision 2030 aspires to. Princess Deena bint Saud, chairwoman of the board of directors of SEREDO 2025, said that this year's exhibition will witness a qualitative development in its content and participation, compared to previous editions, both in terms of the diversity of exhibitors and the size of accompanying events. She emphasized the organizing committee's keenness to attract a selection of leading local and international companies in the fields of real estate development, finance, and engineering, to enhance the visitor experience and empower investors. The exhibition is expected to receive more than 100,000 visitors, which will make this edition the most sustainable in the history of SEREDO. The exhibition also seeks to strengthen local and international partnerships, explore the many promising investment opportunities in the city, and keep pace with its urban development. Additionally, the exhibition will discuss key related topics that will impact the future of real estate through its diverse sessions. These topics include quality, sustainable building practices, smart home technologies, mastering real estate auction methods, analyzing recent market trends, studying smart investment strategies, and the impact of geospatial data science, all of which are driving a radical transformation in the Saudi real estate sector, among other important and interesting topics.
