KSA Minister of Finance: CBDCs are a fantastic tool for developing countries

KSA Minister of Finance: CBDCs are a fantastic tool for developing countries

During the World Economic Forum’s session’ Financial Institutions innovating under pressure’ The Saudi Minister of Finance Mohammed al-Jadaan stated that while CBDCs have privacy issues they are a fantastic tool in developing countries.

While the panel discussed the risks that crypto and new technologies were posing especially given that crypto losses were over $1 trillion in 2022, most agreed that the regulation was a key element in mitigating these risks.

Saudi Finance Minister Al Jadaan also believes that the real risks of these innovations haven’t even been seen yet, and the one incident with the loss of 12 zeros has triggered a lot of thinking of what needs to be done.

He believes that Central Banks, traditional financial institutions and even innovators in Fintech need to discuss how to deal with Anti Money laundering issues, terrorism financing and entities that use these technologies to circumvent the regulatory framework.

When discussing CBDC (Central Bank Digital Currencies) Al Jadaan noted “Whether CBDCs and similar government sponsored currencies one will need to think about privacy.” He believes that the minute a government issues a CBDC or government sponsored cryptocurrency there is a compromise on privacy.

He states, “There is a lot of data to whoever is holding that currency.”

Yet he believes that CBDC is a fantastic tool in developing countries. He explains, “It can be used as a social safety net. CBDC can be used by people to exclusively buy milk, rice, oil but may not be allowed for other items.” He notes that while on one hand it is beneficial the other side of it is the risk of privacy invasion. ‘Bottom line no perfect solution.

Saudi Arabia piloted a CBDC with the UAE under the name ABER. The report on the final project was positive from a technical standpoint and the report highlighted the need for further use case trials.

In addition in July 2022, the Central Bank of KSA hired former Accenture Director Mr. Mohsen Alzahrani to lead the virtual asset and Central Bank Digital currency project at the bank.

It seems KSA is still studying the impact of CBDC implementation and is worried about the issue of privacy infringement.

Algerian Central Bank to adopt CBDC for national currency

Algerian Central Bank to adopt CBDC for national currency

At the end of 2022 the Prime Minister of Algeria, Aimene Benabderrahmane announced that the Central Bank of Algeria is intending to adopt a national digital currency under the name of “Algerian digital dinar” as part of the digitalization of payments.

In his speech the Prime Minister stated, “One of the main workshops held at the Central Bank of Algeria, was under the theme digital payments that would allow the adoption of a digital form of money. It would ensure that the issuance, management and control of the digital currency, the Algerian digital dinar would be under the Central Bank.”

As reported by the Algeria Press Service these statements were made on the sidelines of the opening ceremony of the Central Banks Future Challenges conference organized by the Bank of Algeria.

“In the digital age, the need to strengthen the security and control of payment systems will undoubtedly be felt, new challenges that the Bank of Algeria must face”, added the Prime Minister.

Algeria has had a rough financial year in 2022. As per the World Bank Inflation remained high—9.4 percent year-on-year during the first nine months of 2022 which notably led by the global rise in food prices (which increased by 13.6 percent in Algeria). Poorer households being the most impacted. The Algerian authorities responded by intensifying measures to protect the purchasing power, primarily by increasing civil service salaries, introducing unemployment benefits for young first-time job seekers, and strengthening subsidies for basic foodstuffs.

Algorand Decipher conference kicks off in UAE with leading MENA Blockchain entities

Algorand Decipher conference kicks off in UAE with leading MENA Blockchain entities

The second annual conference Decipher, by the Algorand Foundation is being held today until the 30th of November at Madinat Jumeirah Conference & Events Centre in Dubai, UAE.  The Algorand Foundation’s mission is to grow and empower the ecosystem around Algorand-the leading carbon-negative Layer-1 blockchain-and Decipher’s programming will highlight top founders and investors from both within and beyond the Algorand network.

The event will witness more  than 120 speakers across four stages and 50 sessions. Registrants will also be able to sign up for one-on-one mentoring with blockchain leaders, learn to set up wallets and experience play-to-earn games, explore a high-end curated NFT art gallery, take part in hands-on workshops designed for developers and led by the engineers and product leaders behind the Algorand protocol, and more.

Topics include Financial Inclusion at Scale: A World Tour featuring Sanzar Kakar, Founder of HesabPay; Victor Mapunga, Co-Founder & CEO of FlexFinTx; Abhinav Sinha, Cofounder, Eko India Financial Services; and Matt Keller, Head of Social Impact at the Algorand Foundation.

Also is the topic of Building the Next Crypto Capital featuring Basil Al Askari, CEO & Cofounder of MidChains; Benjamin Ampen, CEO MENA at Kraken; and Jehanzeb Awan, Chairman of the Middle East, Africa and Asia Crypto and Blockchain Association.

As well as the topic of payments revolution featuring  Khaled Moharem, President Middle East at WadzPay; Eduardo Novillo Astrada, CEO & Cofounder of AgroToken; and more to be announced.

In addition topics include Safer Bridges to a Multichain Future featuring Nico Arqueros, Primary Contributor, Milkomeda; Adi Ben-Ari, Founder & CEO, Applied Blockchain; and Hugo Philion, CEO & Cofounder, Flare Network

Venture Perspectives Across the Crypto Landscape featuring Terry Culver, CEO & General Partner at DFG Group; Mona Hamdy, Chief Strategy Officer at Sino Global Capital; Abhinav Pathak, Research Partner at Woodstock Fund; and Ryan Terribilini, Head of Ecosystem Funding at the Algorand Foundation

View the full agenda and speaker lineup at https://www.decipherevent.com

UAE Mubadala Capital leads $70 million investment in Web3 Fintech startup Ramp

UAE Mubadala Capital leads $70 million investment in Web3 Fintech startup Ramp

UAE based Mubadala Capital led a Series B funding round of $70 million for Ramp Network, whose claim their mission is to make Web3 a reality by enabling mainstream adoption of  products and services offered by pioneering blockchain ventures.

Ramp Network does this by offering a payment infrastructure that connects crypto and traditional finance.

“Ramp has established a clear lead in the crypto gaming space by delivering a superior user experience, leading conversion rates and strong regulatory compliance,” said Frederic Lardieg at Mubadala Capital Ventures.

Among the investors was Korelya Capital,  Balderton Capital which led its $53 million Series A, and new investor Cogito Capital.

The firm has now raised over $120 million in the past year. It offers a payment product that lets users buy cryptocurrencies inside any application or website, essentially the Web3 answer to services like PayPal (PYPL) or Stripe. Its customers include GameStop (GME), crypto-based fantasy sports company Sorare, play-to-earn online game Axie Infinity and Ledger, maker of hardware crypto wallets.

Ramp plans to use the capital to hire for a number of senior roles. It has about 70 open positions, which means its staff will number 200, Co-founder and CEO Szymon Sypniewicz told CoinDesk in an email. The funding will also go toward adding local fiat currencies and payment methods as part of a global expansion.

Sypniewicz states, “Our goal is to keep building infrastructure to make Web3 easy and accessible. Despite current market conditions, we see a growing trend of web2 companies looking to move into Web3, and we’re uniquely positioned to help them through this transformation. That’s why we’re doubling down on growth.”

“Local payment methods reduce friction and costs for lower-income regions, while being more intuitive and accessible for more people in the world,” Sypniewicz said. “This is particularly true in LatAm and Asia, both regions that have seen explosive crypto adoption, and that we consider our next strategic targets.”

As part of the investment, Mubadala Capital’s Frederic Lardieg has joined Ramp’s as a director, and Korelya Capital partner Paul Degueuse joined as an observer.

Ramp said payment volumes have increased 240% year-over-year, and the number of unique users coming from integration partners rose by more than seven times.

It was not surprising to see Mubadala Capital invest in Blockchain crypto entity, given its open sponsorship of Token 2049 in London.

BitOasis beats Binance to it and launches crypto cards with MasterCard in MENA

BitOasis beats Binance to it and launches crypto cards with MasterCard in MENA

UAE based crypto exchange BitOasis, and MasterCard are launching crypto card programs across the MENA region to facilitate day to day usage of cryptocurrencies at points of sale and ecommerce website.

BitOasis customers will be able to convert their cryptocurrency holdings to fiat currency allowing the consumer to easily shop and pay at more than 90 million merchant locations globally. The first BitOasis cards are expected to launch in early 2023 in markets with regulatory approvals.

BitOasis customers, who can also access a range of MasterCard benefits, will be issued with virtual and physical BitOasis cards through a simple and compliant digital on boarding experience via the BitOasis app, allowing them to transact seamlessly physically and online.

BitOasis customer transactions will be enabled to take place in Fiat currency, thereby adding consumer protection – such as provisions for dispute resolution and refunds – which doesn’t exist today when paying with a digital asset. The partnership will address these pain points and further drive customer awareness and crypto adoption in the region. 

Amnah Ajmal, Executive Vice President Market Development, EEMEA, MasterCard, said: “Changes in consumer demand, as they look for new, fast and flexible digital experiences, are fueling an increase in the adoption of emerging payment technologies. With this comes a greater expectation for businesses to provide multiple ways to shop and pay. Through our collaboration with BitOasis, one of the most innovative crypto platforms in MENA, we enable the consumer experience to be seamless by using their cryptocurrencies in a safe and secure environment.”

 Ola Doudin, CEO and co-founder, BitOasis, stated,  “We continue to witness sustained demand amongst our customers for crypto to be integrated into, and relevant, for their daily lives.  Research tells us that 47% of the Middle East population now believe crypto is the future of money. As the largest crypto platform built for the GCC and MENA region, we are delighted to partner with Mastercard to enable BitOasis customers to benefit from the convenience of linking their BitOasis wallets to their BitOasis Mastercard Crypto Cards for use across Mastercard’s global merchant network. Our mission at BitOasis is to enable a new digital financial system that is transparent, inclusive, regulated, and relevant on a daily basis, whilst providing even greater safety and security for cryptocurrency payments. Today’s partnership helps us deliver against our mission”.

It seems BitOasis beat Binance to it. In August Richard Teng head of Binance MENA had stated that they would be close to launching crypto cards with MasterCard in MENA. Since then no announcement. But here is BitOasis all partnered up and ready to go.

UAE Bike and electric mobility retailer to offer crypto payment services with Binance

UAE Bike and electric mobility retailer to offer crypto payment services with Binance

Binance Pay is once again being used in the UAE to buy products using cryptocurrencies. UAE based Bikeera, a retailer for bicycles, scooters, electric mobility vehicles has teamed up with Binance Pay to offer virtual asset payment services.

Bikeera says the move aims to help reduce GHG emissions, carbon footprint and improve the health and lifestyle of GCC residents. Purchasers can pay in BNB, Bitcoin and Ethereum.

Already Majid Al Futtaim, Virtuzone, Palazzo Versace, EazyPay and others are using Binance Pay in the region.

Anthony Boukather, CEO of Bikeera, stated, “Bikeera aims to provide sustainable mobility alternatives that promote a healthy lifestyle and a better planet. By partnering up with Binance, we are giving more flexibility to customers in terms of payment methods. We are proud to have been selected as one of the first companies in this program, and would like to congratulate Binance on their recent announcement about receiving the MVP license from Dubai’s Virtual Asset Regulatory Authority (VARA). This most recent license is an acknowledgement of the compliance and safety processes behind the Binance ecosystem.”

Nadeem Ladki, executive director of Business Development and Strategic Partnerships at Binance added, “Binance is committed to supporting innovative and impact driven businesses such as Bikeera. As a leader in this space, Bikeera’s decision to accept virtual assets payments via Binance Pay empowers the sports community in the UAE and helps with the adoption of more efficient payment methods.”

EazyPay and Binance to offer crypto payments in Bahrain

EazyPay and Binance to offer crypto payments in Bahrain

Bahrain EazyPay, a payments solution provider,  has partnered with Binance’s Binance Pay to launch a regulated and approved crypto payments service offering in the Kingdom.

Nayef Tawfiq Al Alawi, Founder, MD & CEO of Eazy in Bahrain stated on LinkedIn,  “Now you can pay in stores with any preferred Cryptocurrency using Binance App.  A special thanks goes to Central Bank of Bahrain, Binance and Eazy Financial Services B.S.C (Closed) teams.” 

‎‏Eazy Financial Services “EazyPay”, a  Bahraini financial institute specialized in Point-of-Sale (POS) & Online Payment Gateway Acquiring services licensed & regulated by the Central Bank of Bahrain, has partnered with Binance, to offer crypto  payments using “Binance Pay” over “EazyPay”  across 5000+ Point-of- Sale (POS) Terminals & Online Payment gateways in the Kingdom of Bahrain.

Merchants such as ‎‏ Lulu Hypermarket, Sharaf DG and Al Zain Jewellery as well as local favorites such as Jasmi’s will now be able to accept 70+ cryptocurrencies from “Binance Pay” customers in a very fast & extremely secure way.

Customers can pay at Merchants Stores in “Real-Time” with cryptocurrency by simply scanning the generated QR from Eazy’s POS using their Binance App and pay with preferred cryptocurrency.

WadzPay teams up with DIFC Fintech Hive to offer blockchain payment features in the Metaverse

WadzPay teams up with DIFC Fintech Hive to offer blockchain payment features in the Metaverse

WadzPay, blockchain payments provider operating in the UAE, has teamed up with DIFC (Dubai International Financial Centre) Fintech Hive and Emirates NBD accelerator program, to offer payment features in the metaverse. This is a huge undertaking given that the metaverse economy is predicated to hit $13 trillion by 2030.  

Moreover this is especially significant in the UAE given that Dubai announced its metaverse strategy in July 2022. As per the strategy Dubai wants to attract 5000 blockchain and metaverse companies to the city by 2027. DIFC has been working through its regulatory arm DFSA to ensure the proper regulatory environment for crypto tokens, security tokens, and is considered by VARA as one of the entities that can house regulated companies in this sphere.

Raja Al Mazrouei, Executive VP of DIFC Fintech Hive was quoted saying, “The 10-week global accelerator programme for metaverse start-ups reaffirms our commitment to support Dubai’s ambition to be among the top 10 metaverse economies in the world.”

We all know that for the metaverse to be successful, payment services in the metaverse will not only have to be seamless but extremely secure as well as compliant. Each metaverse will have to have a robust payment method or it won’t be a fully functional experience.

Noteworthy as well is that Emirates NBD has stated that it intends to build up its 3D capabilities, creating virtual worlds to augment the customer experience and enabling a decentralised payment infrastructure for customers to create, monetise, buy and sell digital assets and services.

Now let’s put it all together, Dubai wants to be a metaverse hub; the UAE has already piloted a CBDC project not only with Saudi Arabia but also other central banks with the wholesale CBDC project Mbridge which is in partnership with BIS and Hong Kong Monetary Authority, Thailand and Central Bank of China. The Mbridge pilot has already commenced with commercial banks in 2022.

So far 105 countries across the globe are exploring CBDCs, with only 9 percent of countries having actually launched a CBDC.

For those not familiar with WadzPay, it is an interoperable and agnostic blockchain payments ecosystem that was founded in Singapore in 2018 but is currently operating across Asia and the Middle East with offices in UAE. As per their website, the company has been working with large payment companies, banks, on CBDC rollouts and digital assets transactions and settlements.

So when Anish Jain Founder & Group Chief Executive Officer of WadzPay announced on LinkedIn, that the company is working with DIFC Fintech hub and Emirates NBD accelerator program to enable financial services in the metaverse, it was newsworthy.  

LaraontheBlock, asked Jain what this meant and how they were working with DIFC, his reply, “WadzPay established its presence in UAE in 2020 with its DIFC entity. The DIFC FinTech hive provided tools to grow our business. It is also the breeding ground for innovation. WadzPay Chain is purpose built for payments and is metaverse ready. Together with the WadzPay payments ecosystem it will provide users with optionality, agility and access into the metaverse while making traditional payments efficient.”

In conclusion, maybe we will be witnessing the first complete financial service and payment offering in a metaverse experience within the UAE sooner than we think. A digital wallet that would or could hold CBDC, stablecoins, crypto that users in the metaverse could utilize for the purchase of digital assets or representations of physical assets as NFTs securely and compliantly.

We will know which start-ups have been chosen to implement these projects with Emirates NBD as they will be announced during Gitex2022.

 In the end it is only when you can garner valued economic activity in the metaverse will the metaverse actually have any sort of true utility.

On the side-lines, it was also interesting to see that WadzPay had signed a strategic partnership with FIGA an enterprise in the Republic of Congo to tokenize the rights of reserves of potash, phosphate and iron which will be extracted over the next 25 years. WadzPay is expected to tokenize $4 billion worth of assets for foreign direct investment.

WadzPay also partnered with Algorand Blockchain where it will utilize Algorand platform in multiple proof of concept-stage projects including Asia and Africa-based CBDC launches.

Oman Corporation trials stablecoin pegged to Oman Riyal

Oman Corporation trials stablecoin pegged to Oman Riyal

The Oman Water and Waste Water Services Company ( OWWSC), member of Nama Group, to trial a stablecoin linked to the Oman Riyal. The company signed an MOU with Oman based Digital Digits, the creators of Easy coins and Connected Chains to trial “ Hasalah” a stablecoin Wallet.

The companies have agreed to trial a cryptographic stablecoin pegged to the Omani Riyal to be utilized as payment from subscribers in select OWWSC customer halls as well as on Easy Coin. Payments will be made using Hasalah Digital Wallet.

HH Sayyid Azzan Bin Qais Al Said, Co-Founder of Digital Digits states, “We are proud to empower such a trial within the Sultanate of Oman which in turn will improve Easy Coins’ service competitiveness to match global players in this space. Easy Coins customers will significantly benefit from the reduced cost of payment processor fees to use our service with Hasalah”.

Qais Al Zakwani, CEO of the Oman Water and Wastewater Services Company, adds: “In line with the company’s ambition to keep pace with the digital transformation and to provide our customers with innovative options to pay their monthly dues, we are extremely pleased to enter into this partnership, through which we hope our customers will be provided with a new experience to pay bills through the Hasalah wallet, when launched”.

Hamood Al Hamadan, Director of SaS Center from Ministry of Transport, Communications and Information Technology (MTCIT) said, “We believe that the advancement of technology in Sultanate of Oman is in need of increased collaboration and coordination of such trials. Through supporting technology innovation and experimentation by the government and private sector, we foresee many local tech products growing and scaling regionally and globally.”

Nabil Al Siyabi, CEO of Connected Chains Said, “We are excited to work with OWWSC, Easy Coins and the other relevant stakeholders in tokenizing the Omani Riyal to enable real life benefits in doing so to payments. We welcome any other government or private entities interested in accepting the tokenized Omani riyal, when fully rolled out with its associated benefits.”

In June 2022, The Executive President of the Central Bank of Oman, Mr. Tahir Salim Al Amri, commented during the 7t Edition of the new Age Banking Summit on the topic of CBDCs (Central Bank Digital Currencies)  that the Central Bank of Oman is working to issue its own CBDC.  

In Parallel, the Oman Capital Market Authority issued its new Securities Law (46/2022) which stipulates that the authority can “Agree to application of technologies, virtual digital investments or any products or services in the areas related to the provisions of this law, as set out in the Regulation.”

Additionally Oman is working towards tokenization of real-estate. The Oman Capital Market Authority (OCMA) is set to include real estate tokenization in its virtual asset regulatory framework, a report quoting an advisor of the authority has said. According to the report, Oman expects to complete drafting the virtual assets regulatory framework by Q3 of 2022.

Binance MENA to offer crypto cards with MasterCard as part of 90 million stores initiative

Binance MENA to offer crypto cards with MasterCard as part of 90 million stores initiative

On August 23rd 2022,  Michael Miebach the CEO of MasterCard posted on LinkedIn, “We can unlock the full potential of blockchain technology when we make it easier to access and easier to use. One way we do that is by bringing crypto to everyday purchases. To make that a reality, we’re working with Binance to let people use their crypto to make purchases at 90 million stores that accept MasterCard. We are launching this work in Argentina with plans to expand from there.” 

It seems that the expansion will be in the MENA region and come very soon.

So as mentioned, MasterCard and Binance will start offering customers the opportunity to pay for items with their Bitcoin and BNB, using a Binance Card. A prepaid card, that bridges crypto and fiat currencies, in Argentina. The plan is to then roll out this offer to include 90 million stores worldwide.

The Binance Card can be used by anyone with a valid national ID to pay bills and make purchases with the card, using their Bitcoin and BNB holdings.

The first stop was Argentina launched earlier in August 2022, with speculations that the USA, and Venezuela or other countries that are big on crypto would be next.

But it seems that expansions could actually start in the MENA region. Richard Teng, Binance regional Head of MENA also posted on LinkedIn two days after Michael and stated, “Excited to announce our partnership with MasterCard on crypto cards and payment. Introducing this soon in MENA. Watch this space….”

This clearly indicates that the next stop for the Binance MasterCard partnership will be in MENA and most probably in the UAE. The UAE has one of the most forward looking crypto regulations globally as well as being the third biggest crypto user base in MENA.

In January 2022 a report published by TripleA cryptocurrency Payments Company, showed that Morocco topped the Arab countries in terms of crypto owners or users followed by Egypt, UAE, and then KSA. The report stated that in 2021 global crypto ownership was estimated at an average of 3.9 percent, 300 million crypto users and 18,000 businesses already accepting crypto payments.