UAE ADGM and Zand digital bank to offer preferential banking services to virtual asset entities

UAE ADGM and Zand digital bank to offer preferential banking services to virtual asset entities

UAE based Abu Abu Dhabi Global Market (ADGM) and Zand Bank, the UAE’s all digital bank licensed by the UAE Central Bank, have inked a memorandum of understanding (MoU) to offer preferential banking services and efficient bank account opening  for ADGM-licensed entities, including SMEs, virtual assets companies, funds, and corporations.

Zand Bank will be the sixth bank that ADGM has partnered with in addition to other prominent banks operating in Abu Dhabi and across the UAE. As per the agreement, ADGM and Zand Bank will also support the placement of Emiratis and offer finance training programs, SME financing platforms, a FinTech sandbox, and corporate innovation programs.

Commenting on this partnership, Dhaher bin Dhaher Al Mheiri, CEO of ADGM, said, “We are pleased to partner with Zand Bank to collaborate on mutually beneficial initiatives and empower ADGM’s community with dedicated banking services. SMEs exist as one of the main pillars of economic diversification in the UAE and Abu Dhabi. They are important contributors to ADGM’s vibrant ecosystem. Enabling digital financial services through Zand bank in both the retail and corporate space for these SMEs is a testament to our continued efforts to support their growth and expansion in the global financial hub. We look forward to witnessing the long-term growth this impactful partnership presents to the ADGM community and the SMEs of the UAE.”

Michael Chan, CEO at Zand Bank, said, “We are delighted to partner with ADGM to support technology SMEs and start-ups across the UAE. As the international financial centre in Abu Dhabi, ADGM houses a number of diverse businesses, all looking to grow and expand their footprint in the region. We strive to financially empower these businesses in the ADGM community, through our innovative, customer-centric and superior digital banking offerings.”

More than 1,000 companies established operations within the center in the first six months of last year. According to Al Mheiri, there are over 5,400 companies registered and licensed at the ADGM, with the number expected to grow.

UAE Cypher Capital seeking $100 million for crypto venture fund

UAE Cypher Capital seeking $100 million for crypto venture fund

As per a recent article in Bloomberg, UAE Cypher Capital an early-strategy venture firm focused on investing in Web3 infrastructure, is seeking to raise $100 million for a crypto venture fund. Cypher Capital’s Chairman Bill Qian, the former head of Binance Labs, stated that he is seeking over $100 million in funding for a crypto venture fund. 

Bill Qian joined Cypher Capital in September 2022 as the new Chairman of its Board of Directors. Bill brings to Cypher Capital more than 15 years of invaluable industry expertise in managing and investing over $20 billion.

As per the article Cypher Capital is prioritizing projects that will bring about 5 billion more internet and social users to the web3. Bill Qian planned to approach Asian tech moguls for funding but did not name them.

Qian, plans to invest in web3-focused start-ups. The next edition is determined by the laxity of the internet that advocates say will be more decentralized and dependent on blockchain technology.

Cypher Capital has ten employees and recently invited Elaine Liu, a veteran of Tencent, to support its expansion in the UAE. In November, the company set up an office space for crypto and blockchain startups at Dubai Marina as part of an effort to find future deals.

He also declined to disclose whether the fund received any commitments but said the digital asset’s recovery this year, which has seen Bitcoin rise around 50%, has helped raise capital just got easier.

In June 2022, Cypher Capital  invested in Blockchain gaming platform, MetaOne. UAE Cypher Capital, Huobi Ventures, LD Capital and GSR Capital have invested 2 million USD in MetaOne, a SAAS ( Software as a Service) platform that is working to onboard games and guilds onto blockchain gaming.

In November 2022, Rekt Studios, a Dubai-based startup  secured $1.5 million in funding from Cypher Capital, to bolster the development of the ‘Unseen’ ecosystem. 

Crypto Ownership more than doubles in Morocco, Egypt, Tunisia and Lebanon

Crypto Ownership more than doubles in Morocco, Egypt, Tunisia and Lebanon

The TRIPLE A January 2023 crypto ownership country report noted that the number of cryptocurrency users has increased since January 2022. In January 2023 there were 420 million crypto owners globally; this is up from their previous report in January 2022 where they had stated there were 300 million crypto owners globally. In the Arab world biggest growth was seen in Morocco, Egypt, Lebanon, Tunisia, and even Iraq. 

More interesting is that if we compare the percentage of crypto owners in the Arab world between January 2022 and January 2023 in some countries the increase is exponential.

For example in Jan 2022 2.38% of Moroccan population owned crypto, by January 2023 this number had increased to 4.9% an increase of more than 2% in one year. The same goes for Egypt, Tunisia, and Lebanon were the increase was also significant.

CountryJan 2022 Crypto Ownership %Jan 2023 crypto ownership %Crypto Ownership Population 2023
Morocco2.384.91,794,827
Saudi Arabia1.31.6592,351
Egypt1.7533,098,736
UAE1.54NANA
Jordan1.271.5170,649
Kuwait1.12NANA
Tunisia1.042.0241,098
Lebanon12.4185,704
Bahrain0.90.916,802
Qatar0.90.924,608
Oman0.9NA 
Iraq0.91.8700,935
PalestineNA2.3326,851
AlgeriaNA2.21,016,105
TurkeyNA5.54,626,523

In another recent CoinGecko report, Lebanon placed first in the rankings as the country most interested in AI crypto, scoring the highest of 100 for almost all the search terms, resulting in a total score of 1,200. The 21.6% share in AI crypto search interest suggests that the Lebanese crypto community is keen to trade on trends like the pumping prices of AI tokens. Other Arab countries curious about crypto AI included UAE, followed by Kuwait and Qatar.

One can also go back to Chainalysis report in October 2022, where Middle East & North Africa (MENA) was the fastest growing region. MENA-based users received $566 billion in cryptocurrency from July 2021 to June 2022, 48% more than they received the year prior. The top three countries at that time were Morocco, Egypt, Lebanon and Turkey. This is once again mirrored in the stats showcased in this article. 

UAE Hub71 launches $2 billion blockchain digital asset initiative to fund startups

UAE Hub71 launches $2 billion blockchain digital asset initiative to fund startups

Abu Dhabi’ Hub71, the technology ecosystem in UAE has launched the Hub71+ Digital Assets. This ecosystem is dedicated to advancing Web3, a decentralized online space built on innovations like blockchain technology and metaverse applications. 

The ecosystem has over US$2 billion of capital committed to fund Web3 startups and blockchain technologies in Abu Dhabi. Hub71+ Digital Assets will offer Web3 startups access to an extensive range of programs, initiatives, and corporate, government, and investment partners in the UAE and global markets.

The initiative will be based at Hub71 in Abu Dhabi Global Market (ADGM), providing Web3 startups with a progressive regulatory environment and world-class blockchain and virtual asset infrastructure. 

FABRIC, is the the research and innovation center of First Abu Dhabi Bank (FAB), will be the anchor partner of Hub71+ Digital Assets, while digital asset exchanges and service providers are part of the initiative to facilitate the discovery, trading and custody of digital assets.

Hub71 has also onboarded a diverse range of partners and Web3 players that form part of Hub71+ Digital Assets including Binance and MidChains, Amazon Web Services (AWS) and Mastercard as well as Venture studio Founders DAO.

It has also onboarded Venture capital funds who will provide access to capital and investment opportunities including names such as Binance Labs’ $500 million Investment Fund to invest in ‘Web3’, Venom Foundation through its $1 billion venture fund, Venom Venture Funds (VVF) in partnership with ICEBERG Capital and Ton Foundations’ $250 million TONcoin.Fund. 

Additionally, existing venture capital partners from Hub71 are set to invest in Web3 companies

The combination of these elements aims to support participating startups to launch tokens and promote tokenization, as part of the fundraising journey.

Ahmad Ali Alwan, Deputy Chief Executive Officer of Hub71, said: “Hub71+ Digital Assets signifies that Abu Dhabi is open to disruptive businesses driving forward change and transformation on a global level. Decentralization is the future of a blockchain-based internet, and Web3 startups will play an immense role in accelerating this transition. Teaming up with ADGM, FAB and its research and innovation center, FABRIC, alongside the world’s leading Web3 companies and enablers under one roof will provide founders with an opportunity to fundraise, develop and commercialize innovations safely while operating within the largest regulated jurisdiction of virtual assets in the Mena region.”

Dhaher bin Dhaher Al Mheiri, CEO of ADGM, said: “We are pleased to strengthen our association with Hub71 on the launch of Hub71+ Digital Assets. In today’s rapidly evolving digital landscape, we have seen the rise of new technologies, and ecosystems such as Web3 that have the potential to transform the world. At ADGM, we are dedicated to providing a holistic environment that facilitates a seamless and secure adoption of digital assets to foster the growth of this new digital landscape. This alliance will help start-ups and digital assets to benefit from ADGM’s diverse ecosystem and progressive regulatory environment by accessing world-class and innovative infrastructure.

Suhail Bin Tarraf, Group Chief Operating Officer at First Abu Dhabi Bank (FAB), commented: “FAB is trusted as a financial partner to our customers in the real world, and those same customers are now increasingly active in the Web3 space as well. Staying ahead of the curve when it comes to innovations such as blockchain, NFTs and the metaverse, is yet another way we fulfil our Customer First promise as we leverage new opportunities at the intersection of digital identity, ownership, and value. Through this partnership, it is our intent to meet our customers in this emerging digital space and keep them ahead with their financial needs.”

A Blockchain enabled Food Metaverse launches in UAE with OneRare

A Blockchain enabled Food Metaverse launches in UAE with OneRare

Food Metaverse, OneRare, the world’s first food metaverse, known as Foodverse has launched in the UAE. The Foodverse is bringing the Global F&B Industry to Web3 for the first time ever – allowing them to create virtual experiences, food NFTs and games, & interact with foodies from across the world built using the blockchain.

In UAE, partnerships with food brands such as Foodlink UAE, The Bhukkad Cafe, Cali Poke, Farzi Cafe, Papa John’s and more have been signed in only a few months.

Created while in lockdown, Supreet Raju, co-founder and CEO of OneRare states, “I have long said that food has a language of its own and makes the world a happier place. It is what connects us and the metaverse only brings us closer together in a unique way in which we can share our culture and our food. Now with the launch of the foodverse, there is no reason why brands and consumers can’t come together in this safe, virtual setting.” 

The Foodverse developed by OneRare will feature various zones where users can discover Celebrity Chefs, Food Brands and Virtual Restaurants. Designed like the real world, the foodverse features various geographical areas like the beach, forest and lakeside, and you can explore the open world at your will. There is also an exclusive Gaming zone, with activity areas for players to explore, earn, collect and battle. “The platform is incredibly unique and offers the end-user with so many opportunities to explore food,” adds Gaurav Gupta, co-founder of OneRare. 

OneRare will also allow users to claim Dish NFTs from across the world, by collecting Ingredients and following Recipes to mint exclusive NFT artworks. Dishes include global cuisines, festive specials, keto and vegan-friendly recipes, as well as signature recipes from celebrity chefs and restaurants. Raju explained, “As we grow, users will also be able to swap these NFTs for real meals & deals – amalgamating our real & virtual lives.”

UAE-based F&B group Foodlink released NFTs for its award winning sustainable cloud kitchen brand, Art of Dum’s signature Dish’s Dum Handi ka Gosht’ & China Bistro’s Vegetable Crystal Dumplings in food verse,  and  the street food inspired cafe The Bhukkad Cafe in collaboration with OneRare is all pumped up to release three unique Vada Pav NFTs — Cheeseburst, Schezwan, and Classic on 19th February . The Vada Pav NFTs  will be available to mint in the OneRare Kitchen.

Sanjay Vazirani, Founder and CEO of Foodlink Global restaurants & catering services, “My endeavor – Foodlink, operates a variety of verticals in the F&B industry. I’m thrilled to be a part of Web3’s transformational journey and am looking forward to seeing it in its full potential soon, complete with innovative functionalities, cutting-edge user experience, and ease of use that will make it easy for our expanding customer base to adopt. I wish OneRare the best as they work to revolutionize Web3 and raise awareness of and interest in what the future may hold for all of us.”

“We’re extremely excited to announce our collaboration with OneRare on developing the world’s FIRST EVER VADA PAV NFT! When OneRare reached out to us with the idea of developing our own series of NFTs, we were excited because we’re a very crypto friendly brand & have always supported our growing Bhukkad community with all things crypto, from hosting free crypto workshops to accepting payments in crypto. Our vision with this collaboration is to educate our followers & customers on use cases of crypto & ease them into adoption with fun, unique solutions & features. We look forward to engaging with our food community to create even more fun experiences in the Metaverse with the expert help of OneRare.”  — Reshmi Mukherjee, co-founder, The Bhukkad Cafe

Egyptian Singularity Innovations and Red Date Technology bring BSN Blockchain network to MENA region

Egyptian Singularity Innovations and Red Date Technology bring BSN Blockchain network to MENA region

UAE Egyptian based Singularity Innovations Limited a Fintech Blockchain infrastructure provider, with a license out of DIFC ( Dubai International Financial Centre), has partnered with Red Date Technology, a Hong Kong based enterprise blockchain infrastructure company, to promote and build a global public IT system infrastructure based on non-cryptocurrency public chain technologies.

Singularity will act as an infrastructure provider for the BSN Spartan Network in the Middle East and Africa; offering blockchain infrastructure to corporate and governmental entities.

The BSN Spartan Network is a public infrastructure network based on the lightweight BSN Spartan data center software, which is open source, free, and anonymous for anyone to install. Within the data center, the nodes of several Non-Cryptocurrency Public Chains can be installed and accessed. By removing the cryptocurrencies from public chains‘ layer one, the BSN Spartan Network‘s mission is to provide Non-Cryptocurrency public chain services to all IT systems around the world to enjoy this kind of public IT system infrastructure.

The validator nodes of the public permissioned network are run by large corporates such as HSBC, Emperor Group, and Lan Kwai Fong Group, although many of the current companies have Hong Kong or Chinese connections. 

Mo Taysir, CEO & Co-Founder of Singularity Innovations Limited & Singularity Finance expressed his excitement about the partnership: “This partnership lays down the infrastructure required to power and empower international interoperable enterprise blockchain solutions; be it in global trade & supply chain, identity, carbon credits, personal data management, and more.”

“We have received strong positive feedback about the huge potential for public IT systems and non-cryptocurrency public blockchain technology from both enterprises and governments in the MEA region.  Red Date is excited to be partnering with Singularity to bring the BSN Spartan Network to the MEA region,” said Tim Bailey, VP of Global Sales for Red Date Technology.

“We aim to work with government bodies and regulators to always be complaint with all requirements and licensing in the aim of providing a ‘fully compliant Smart-Contracts infrastructure layer’ for enterprise & governmental use,” commented Mo Taysir. 

Binance Pay clients in UAE versus Bahrain, you win some you lose some

Binance Pay clients in UAE versus Bahrain, you win some you lose some

While Binance Pay with its partner in Bahrain is breaking records with new clients accepting crypto payments using the platform, in other places, like the UAE it is losing clients. The issue could be regulatory more than technical.

So last week, Novotel Bahrain Al Dana Resort became the first hotel in the region to accept crypto payments via EazyPay & Binance Pay, while UAE’s Dubai Canadian University seems to have changed its stance and is no longer willing to accept crypto payments. This also seems to be the same situation with UAE Emirates Zone Investment Services which has also announced a partnership, but no longer mentions this prominently on their website or in their tweets. While it still mentions it in their news section.

So back to Bahrain, Eazy Financial Services “EazyPay”, Bahrain’s payment services provider signed a payment services agreement with Novotel Bahrain Al Dana Resort, a luxury 4-star beachside hotel in Manama to offer crypto asset payments to its clients via Binance Pay application which is regulated by the Central Bank of Bahrain.

Novotel Bahrain Al Dana Resort’s General Manager, Mr. Amid Yazji commented: “Keeping up with the development of technologies, and our constant desire to provide our valued guests with the highest levels of service, we are thrilled to announce that we are the first hotel in the Kingdom of Bahrain and the region to use the latest digital payment technologies in partnership with Eazy Financial Services “EazyPay”

This is neither the first nor the last client in Bahrain to sign up. Over the past few months EazyPay has signed up an array of clients utilizing its partnership with Binance Pay. Bahrain real estate developer Bin Faqeeh Real estate Investment Company announced that clients could apartments or houses using cryptocurrencies using EazyPay’s POS terminals.

Even stc Bahrain has become the first telecom operator in Bahrain to accept cryptocurrencies through its partnership with Eazy Financial Services, a leading Bahraini Payment Services provider specializing in POS and online payment gateway. EazyPay uses BinancePay and wallet to offer this service to more than 5000 POS terminals in Bahrain.

While in the UAE, in January 2023, UAE Emirates Zone Investment Services announced it had partnered with Binance Pay, to accept crypto payments from the UAE start-up community, small and medium businesses (SMBs), Investors and Entrepreneurs who are planning to set up companies in the region. At the time, the service was prominently mentioned on the first page of their website and in their tweets. Yet now no tweet is visible on the matter and the only reference to the partnership is in their news section of their website.

Furthermore, another UAE client who had announced that they would be accepting cryptocurrencies with Binance Pay has since then retracted their statement. UAE’s Canadian University in Dubai had announced that it was accepting crypto payments through Binance Pay. In a twitter post the Canadian University Dubai announced that it had collaborated with Binance Pay to offer crypto as a payment method. According to the post students of Canadian University Dubai can use Binance Pay to pay their fees.

But then a few days later, in another tweet the Canadian University of Dubai stated, “Dear CUD Community, for technical reasons, CUD will not be accepting cryptocurrency as a method of payment, until further notice. We apologize for any inconvenience.”

It seems weird to have technical issues after the fact, as most entities try and test the service and ensure there are no technical issues before making announcements.

Could there be another reason for the sudden retraction? Could there have been regulatory restraints perhaps? One person commented on the Dubai Canadian University tweet saying, “Lies, you backed down because of pressure from gov. Paying in USDC or crypto is one of the easiest and cheapest ways to send value across the world with perfect and complete settlement.” While other tweet replies bashed Binance.

Whatever the reason it would seem that Binance while winning many clients to its Binance Pay platform, has also lost some especially in the UAE!

LaraotheBlock  reached out to Binance spokesperson and is awaiting their comments. If comments are made this article will be updated. 

LaraontheBlock also tried calling Emirates Investment Zone services but to no avail.

Where is UAE Central Bank 10th initiative for digital asset payments regulation for its upcoming CBDC and digital asset payment providers?

Where is UAE Central Bank 10th initiative for digital asset payments regulation for its upcoming CBDC and digital asset payment providers?

The UAE Central Bank announced on Sunday 12th of February 2023 its nine initiatives for what it calls its financial infrastructure transformation program, the FIT program that will enable the Central Bank of the UAE to be among the top central Banks globally. One of the nine initiatives is the launch of a CBDC for internal and cross border payments, but where is the 10th, the one that will actually put the UAE on the map as the digital payment hub. Where is the UAE’s Central Bank digital asset payment and remittance regulation or rulebook?

So the UAE Central Bank has finally openly stated that it will be launching a CBDC ( Central Bank Digital Currency) for not only cross border payments but also UAE internal national payments. As per the release, the Central Bank Digital Currency (CBDC) would be utilized for cross-border payments and domestic usage in order to address the problems and inefficiency of cross-border payments and help drive innovation for domestic payments respectively.

Ofcourse the announcement that they will launch a CBDC is not surprising given the work the UAE has been doing in the realm of CBDCs over the years. 

In 2019, the Central Bank of the UAE (CBUAE) piloted a wholesale CBDC project with Saudi Central Bank named of “ABER.” A final report was published in 2020, which showed that “the distributed ledger technology would enable central banks to develop payments systems at both local and cross-border levels.”

More recently, the CBUAE, along with the BIS Innovation Hub Hong Kong Centre and the central banks of Hong Kong, Thailand and China,  implemented Project mBridge, a joint initiative experimenting with cross-border payments using a custom-built common platform based on distributed ledger technology (DLT) upon which multiple central banks can issue and exchange their respective central bank digital currencies.

In my previous blog article published on December 15th 2022, I alluded to the fact that the UAE Central Bank could be close to issuing its own CBDC.

At the end of January 2023, the UAE Central Bank and Central Bank of India signed an MOU to collaborate in the payments sector; fintech solutions and experimenting with a CBDC to facilitate cross border transactions.

The Central Bank of UAE as explained in the press release wants to become the financial and digital payment hub and a center of excellence for innovation and digital transformation.

H.E. Khaled Mohamed Balama, Governor of the CBUAE, said: “The FIT Program embodies the directions and aspirations of our wise leadership towards digitizing the economy and developing the financial sector. We are proud to be building an infrastructure that will support a thriving UAE financial ecosystem and its future growth. H.E added: “We will work with our partners to implement the Program, achieve its goals, accelerate the adoption of digital services in the financial sector and attract the best talent.”

The Program comprises implementation of nine key initiatives  mentioned below:

 

 

1.  Card Domestic Scheme: The UAE’s first unified, secured, and efficient card payment platform to facilitate the growth of e-commerce and digital transactions in the country.

2.  eKYC:  A  secure  and  user-friendly  platform  to  facilitate  non-face-to-face customer on-boarding and on-going customer due diligence.

3. Central Bank Digital Currency (CBDC): CBDC for both cross-border payments and domestic usage in order to address the problems and inefficiency of cross-border payments and help drive innovation for domestic payments respectively.

4.  Open Finance: Driving innovation and competitiveness as well as collaboration in the financial services sector through inter-connectivity and inter-operability among all players and institutions.

5. Supervisory Technology (SupTech): Advanced SupTech supporting the regulatory and supervisory processes.

6. Innovation Hub: A collaborative platform for engagement, research and development for Fintechs.

7.  Instant Payments Platform: A secure, efficient, and robust payment platform that will support financial inclusion and enable a cashless society through digital payments.

8.  Financial Cloud: A secure, resilient, scalable, and reliable sovereign financial infrastructure.

9. Excellence & Customer Experience: Supporting exceptional customer experiences and fostering a culture of excellence across the financial sector.

 

But where is the 10th most important initiative? Where is the initiative that actually will allow the UAE to be a digital payments hub? Where is the digital asset payment regulation guideline, the one that VARA in its recent announcement of regulations didn’t cover? Where is the digital asset payments initiative that the UAE Securities and Commodities Authority didn’t cover?

Who will regulate digital asset payments and remittance ecosystem if the Central Bank of UAE doesn’t? It would be hard to imagine the UAE as a hub for digital payments without digital asset payments as well. It will be hard to imagine UAE as a hub for crypto and blockchain companies if there is no regulation governing the crypto, virtual assets payment ecosystem.

Sources close to the matter told LaraontheBlock, ” The nine initiative announced today are only related to the financial infrastructure. There are other initiatives being worked on.” 

I wonder if it is prudent to announce nine initiatives and pass over the one most important initiative that everyone is waiting for. But it seems that the Central Bank are working on other initiatives and hopefully digital assets as a payment method are one of them.

Number one ranking University in Dubai UAE is accepting crypto payments with Binance Pay

Number one ranking University in Dubai UAE is accepting crypto payments with Binance Pay

UAE’s Canadian University in Dubai is accepting crypto payments through Binance. In a twitter post the Canadian University Dubai announced that it had collaborated with Binance Pay to offer crypto as a payment method.

According to the post Binance Pay is a contactless secure crypto payment technology.

Students of Canadian University Dubai can use Binance Pay to pay their fees. 

According to the QS World University Rankings 2022, Canadian University Dubai is ranked first in Dubai. There are more than 70 supported cryptocurrencies on Binance Pay, including Cardano (ADA), Bitcoin (BTC), Ethereum (ETH) and others.

In February 2023 as well, Bahrain real estate developer Bin Faqeeh Real estate Investment Company announced that clients can buy apartments or houses using cryptocurrencies. Bin Faqeeh will be offering crypto payment services with Bahrain financial service provider EazyPay POS terminals, which is utilizing Binance Pay.

In late January 2023, UAE Emirates Zone Investment Services partnered with Binance Pay, to accept crypto payments from the UAE startup community, small and medium businesses (SMBs), Investors and Entrepreneurs who are planning to set up companies in the region.

In October 2022 in Chainalysis’s blog report, MENA based crypto users received $566 billion worth of cryptocurrency in one year from July 2021 to June 2022. As per the news, this is a 48 percent increase from 2020-2021.

Blockchain UAE Trade Finance platform adds United Arab Bank as 11th bank on its platform

Blockchain UAE Trade Finance platform adds United Arab Bank as 11th bank on its platform

Blockchain UAE Trade Connect platform, the UAE’s first trade finance platform to combat fraud has added United Arab Bank (UAB) as its 11th bank on its platform.

UTC, the fintech blockchain platform of e& enterprise, is the UAE’s first commercialized solution to combat fraud in the trade finance space built on advanced technologies, namely blockchain and Artificial Intelligence (AI). UTC is a collaborative project of the banking industry and co-created with e& enterprise.

UAE Trade Connect is a cloud-native solution that detects suspicious transactions, prevents fraud and duplication, and supports a wide range of trade-related documents that is validated and inspected in real time.

Shirish Bhide, Chief Executive Officer at United Arab Bank, stated, “We wholeheartedly support UTC’s mission of driving digital transformation and reducing fraud risks. This strategic partnership aligns with UAB’s mission to accelerate growth through digitization and to build a secure and transparent trade finance ecosystem. UTC’s benefits will not only protect UAB’s customers and the wider banking system but will also boost global trade. It is a pivotal event in the digitization space, with the potential to make trade financing more accessible, affordable, and equitable.”

 Zulqarnain Javaid, Chief Executive Officer of UTC, added, “We are excited to welcome United Arab Bank to our banking consortium – UAB joins us as a full member along with 10 other UAE banks. All consortium members play an equal and active role in the steering and governance of the UTC platform. Since our launch in April 2021, UTC has inspected transactions worth close to AED 100 billion in real time. This achievement is aligned with the UAE government’s vision to bring the best in technology building a competitive economy and stepping up the digital transformation process to enter into the new digital banking era.”

With the advent of the Invoice Factoring law recently published by the Federal Government of the UAE, the UTC blockchain platform will be a key enabler for banks to increase lending to SMEs and allow corporates to borrow against their trade receivables.

In December 2021, the UAE Blockchain AI enabled UAE Trade Connect trade finance platform which was built by Etisalat and Blockchain solution provider Avanza Innovations, had processed 10 Billion AED (2.7 billion USD) worth of invoices during the first eight months of its operation. Etisalat Digital launched UTC trade Finance platform in April of 2021 alongside seven banks within the UAE.

In early 2022, Abu Dhabi Commercial Bank joined UTC platform as did Dubai Islamic Bank. At that time UTC had in total nine banks on its roster. The founding banks included First Abu Dhabi Bank (FAB), RAKBANK, Emirates NBD, Commercial Bank of Dubai, National Bank of Fujairah, Mashreq Bank, ADIB – Abu Dhabi Islamic Bank, and Commercial Bank International.