First Independent Mena Newspaper
Sub-Saharan Africa remains the world’s most expensive region when it comes to transferring remittances, with an average cost of transferring money of 8.37% in the second quarter of 2024, according to the World Bank’s most recent report. This cost remains significantly above the global average, despite the increasing importance of remittances in the region’s economies. […]
The number of fintech companies in Africa have almost tripled this year compared with 2020 as financial conditions across the continent ease, though funding costs are still an obstacle to further growth, according to a new report by the European Investment Bank (EIB). This progress is thanks to the improving access to finance for people […]
Mastercard has acquired a minority stake in the fintech subsidiary of South African telecommunications giant MTN in a deal valued at a whopping $5.2 billion, whereby the partnership will see Africa’s biggest mobile company to strategically leverage the US giant’s technology for its payments and remittance expansion in the continent. By snapping up the minority […]
Home to the second most crypto-currency holders in the world, Africa is in urgent need for greater consumer protection and regulation of the crypto industry, experts say, which has been highlighted by the collapse of the world’s third largest crypto exchange FTX and subsequent plunge in the prices of major crypto assets, most notably Bitcoin. […]
The Saudi Central Bank (SAMA) Tuesday issued operation permits to “Lean Technologies” and “Mod5r”, two companies which will provide Open Banking Solutions. The permits are in line with the Council of Ministers’ decision in the second quarter of 2022, which provides for the adoption of the Fintech Strategy containing the supreme directive order for the […]