Money & Me: ‘My best investment is an Abu Dhabi property purchased at the height of Covid-19'
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Khaleej Times
9 hours ago
- Khaleej Times
Middle East emerging as a major global fintech hub
The Middle East is fast becoming one of the world's most exciting fintech frontiers. Digital banking adoption in the UAE is soaring, 89 per cent of consumers now use digital-first bank accounts, and digital payments now account for just 17 per cent cash usage in everyday transactions. Real-time payments are also growing rapidly, with the region expected to exceed 3 billion transactions by 2028. Across Mena, over 1,000 fintechs are now operating, with the sector expected to grow 35 per cent annually through 2028, more than double the global average. 'We're seeing a profound shift in how financial services are being built, delivered, and adopted in the UAE. Over the past few years, fintech adoption has widened beyond early movers into a broad, vibrant ecosystem, now home to over 300 active fintech firms. Crucially, we're seeing fintech's role expanding. While payments remains a key entry point, the growth of virtual cards, cross-border capabilities, and smarter credit solutions is opening up new opportunities across sectors, from SME lending to wealthtech,' Nauman Hassan, Regional Director Mena, Paymentology, leading global issuer-processor, told Khaleej Times. With initiatives like the Central Bank's FIT Programme and Dubai's push to become a digital-first economy (which is near completion), the architecture of the future is being built. 'High smartphone penetration at 96 per cent, growing comfort with digital payments, and the rise of digital-native banks like Wio and Zand are accelerating this momentum,' Hassan said. The UAE's push toward a cashless society is well underway. Dubai, for example, has digitised over 97 per cent of government payments, and in 2025, DIFC and Dubai Finance launched workshops to help businesses make the switch. 'We're proud to play a foundational role in this shift. Our cloud-first platform enables banks and fintechs to launch digital-first card programmes at speed, whether physical, virtual or tokenised. Our work with partners like Mamo in the UAE illustrates this impact clearly: together, we're helping small businesses access fast, secure, multi-currency payment options - moving them away from cash-based transactions toward streamlined digital flows. And because we support real-time data and multi-currency settlement, we empower fintechs to launch smarter, more accessible financial products from day one. To support this momentum on the ground, Paymentology recently expanded its regional presence with a new office in Dubai. 'This hub strengthens our ability to serve clients across Mena with specialised support, faster implementation, and deep local expertise, accelerating the shift to digital payments across the region,' Hassan said. In a country as digitally advanced as the UAE, trust in payment systems is the currency of continued innovation. Every day, over Dh11 million is lost to fraud, studies show. And as adoption of digital payments accelerates, the potential attack surface for cyber threats expands with it. 'We believe security must evolve just as quickly as the technologies it's designed to protect. Tokenisation is one of the most powerful tools in our arsenal. By replacing card numbers with unique digital tokens, we remove sensitive data from the threat landscape entirely, a move that can reduce fraud by up to 60 per cent. We've invested heavily in tokenisation because we believe cards are just one way to pay; the mechanism behind the card will remain, but we'll increasingly see payments shift to mobile devices and digital wallets, whether through global platforms like Apple Pay or proprietary solutions from banks, fintechs, and super apps,' Hassan said. AI is fast becoming the engine driving the industry forward. From real-time fraud detection to intelligent credit scoring, AI is transforming how financial services are delivered, and who can access them. A few years ago the UAE government partnered with Mastercard to accelerate the adoption or AI. More recently we had the announcement granting nationwide access to ChatGPT Plus, giving every student, entrepreneur, and professional free use of GPT-4o is a world first. As well as development of 'Stargate', one of the world's largest AI supercomputing clusters. 'At Paymentology, we're seeing the value of AI unfold across our organisation. Our teams are increasingly leveraging AI in their day-to-day operations from improving internal workflows to enhancing client support. Our API sandbox already incorporates AI to help fintechs experiment and innovate more efficiently, and we're actively exploring new opportunities to integrate AI across our platform. Ultimately, fintech thrives when it's built on real-time data, intelligence, and speed. AI supercharges all three, and the UAE is building the infrastructure to scale it across borders,' Hassan said.
The National
10 hours ago
- The National
Acwa Power signs pacts to export renewable energy and green hydrogen to Europe
Saudi Arabia's Acwa Power has signed preliminary agreements to export renewable energy and green hydrogen to Europe under the India-Middle East-Europe Economic Corridor (IMEC) project. A multi-party deal was signed by Acwa Power with Italy's Edison, France's TotalEnergies Renewables, Zhero Europe from Netherlands and Germany's EnBW, Saudi Arabia's Ministry of Energy said on Sunday. "This deal establishes a collaborative framework to assess the market demand and feasibility of developing large-scale renewable energy projects dedicated for export in Saudi Arabia and the creation of a corridor to deliver generated electricity to Europe," it said. Acwa Power also signed individual pacts with companies involved in the development of electricity corridors, including technical consultant Cesi (Italy) and HVDC technology and cable providers Prysmian (Italy), GE Vernova, Siemens Energy (Germany) and Hitachi (France). "These agreements aim to develop advanced energy transmission corridors that enhance supply reliability and the efficiency of cross-border energy infrastructure," the ministry said. A joint development agreement was also signed with EnBW to collaborate on the first phase of the Yanbu Green Hydrogen Hub, which is planned to be ready for commercial operations by 2030. The hub seeks to be a fully integrated base with its own captive electricity generation from renewable sources, desalination plants to support its hydrogen electrolysis and ammonia conversion facilities, and an export terminal. The project leverages Saudi Arabia's potential to develop renewable energy at competitive rates and supply global industrial demand, the ministry said. The latest pacts, which were signed in Riyadh, are part of the IMEC, which was announced during the G20 summit in 2023. The project consists of an eastern route connecting India to the Gulf and a northern pathway connecting the Gulf to Europe. The cross-border, ship-to-rail transit corridors are expected to reduce shipping costs across the network and support trade in goods and services to, from and between the UAE, Saudi Arabia, India and Europe. The combined exports from these regions are projected to account for 44 per cent of global trade by 2030. Acwa Power, backed by Saudi Arabia's sovereign wealth fund, the Public Investment Fund, is one of the largest renewable energy developers in the Middle East. It currently has operations in 14 countries across the Middle East, Africa, and Central and South-east Asia. It is an investor in and operator of 101 power generation and water desalination projects in operation, construction and advanced development with an overall portfolio size of about $107.5 billion as of February. Last week, Saudi Arabia signed agreements worth more than 31 billion riyals ($8.3 billion) for seven renewable energy projects with an Acwa Power -led consortium to boost the kingdom's green energy capacity. In February, Acwa Power also signed a preliminary agreement with the German company Securing Energy for Europe (Sefe) to produce and supply green hydrogen to Europe. Under the pact, Acwa Power and Sefe will establish a hydrogen bridge between Saudi Arabia and Germany, with an initial target of supplying 200,000 tonnes of green hydrogen annually by 2030. Acwa Power will act as the lead developer, investor, and operator of green hydrogen and green ammonia production assets. Sefe will be a co-investor and the primary off-taker to market the green hydrogen to its German and European customers, the companies said at the time. The Saudi company is also a partner in the $5 billion Neom Green Hydrogen project, the world's largest, which is expected to be completed next year. The other venture partners are Neom and the US-based Air Products, which has secured an off-take agreement for all the green ammonia produced at the site.
The National
13 hours ago
- The National
Dubai property transactions up 26% in first half as more tenants convert to buyers
The volume and value of real estate transactions in Dubai rose sharply in the first half of the year amid the entry of more than 59,000 new investors, including several residents, into the booming market. The number of transactions reached 125,538, up nearly 26 per cent from 99,947 during the first six months of last year, the Dubai Media Office said on Sunday, quoting Dubai Land Department (DLD) data. The value of these transactions rose about 25 per cent to about Dh431 billion ($117 billion), 'highlighting the strong growth momentum in the market', the report said. The total number of real estate procedures, including sales, leases, and other transaction types, exceeded 1.3 million during the same period. The market attracted 94,717 investors – a 26 per cent increase – who completed 118,132 investments valued at approximately Dh326 billion during the period. The number of new investors in Dubai's real estate market rose by 22 per cent to 59,075, with investments growing 40 per cent to Dh157 billion, the report said. 'Residents in the UAE accounted for 45 per cent of these new investors, highlighting the success of strategies aimed at converting tenants into homeowners,' the report said. 'This also underscores the attractiveness of the local market for long-term stability.' Dubai's property market has been booming in recent years, having benefited from government initiatives such as residency permits for retired and remote workers, expansion of the 10-year golden visa programme and overall growth in the UAE's economy on diversification efforts. This month, a new scheme was also launched to help Emiratis and UAE residents who do not own any freehold residential property in the emirate get on the property ladder. Under the initiative, first-time buyers will have priority access to new homes from participating developers as well as existing inventory, discounts or limited-time offers on the sales price of off-plan units, flexible payment plans and 'improved' mortgage options with better interest rates, faster approval times and reduced fees. The initiative will cover properties valued at up to Dh5 million. DLD expects 5,000 new investors to enter the market this year following the initiative. In the first half of this year, a total of Dh228.35 billion came from foreign investors, with Dh28.4 billion came from Arab investors, the media office said. Gulf investors contributed Dh22.56 billion in investments. For transaction numbers, Al Barsha South Fourth topped the list with 10,469 deals, followed by Al Yalayis 1 with 7,595 transactions, and Wadi Al Safa 5 with 7,178. Business Bay (6,601), Dubai Marina (6,428), Airport City (5,569), Jebel Ali First (4,275), Al Thanyah Fifth (3,956), Burj Khalifa (3,670), and Meaisem First (3,643) rounded off the list of the top 10 areas. In terms of transaction value, Dubai Marina topped the list with Dh25.1 billion in deals, followed by Business Bay at Dh22.5 billion, Burj Khalifa at Dh17.1 billion, and Palm Jumeirah at Dh16.96 billion, 'underscoring the concentration of luxury investments in these prime locations'. Al Yalayis 1 (Dh15.7 billion), Meaisem Second (Dh15.4 billion), Wadi Al Safa 5 (Dh15.3 billion), Airport City (Dh15.2 billion), Al Barsha South Fourth (Dh14.9 billion) and Mohammed Bin Rashid Gardens (Dh14.5 billion) also recorded high value deals. Watch: Dubai's millionaires double as London drops down wealth list The ultra-prime segment in Dubai has seen growth on rising demand, with sales of $10 million-plus homes hitting a record high of $2.6 billion in the second quarter of 2025, a report by property consultancy Knight Frank found. This was 37 per cent ahead of the $1.9 billion recorded in the first quarter and a 63 per cent increase on the same period last year. The total number of $10 million-plus sales during the second quarter hit 143, including 22 transactions for more than $25 million.
