Visa and Tarabut Gateway Team to Expand MENA Open Banking
Tarabut Gateway has entered into cooperation with Visa for a Middle East/North Africa-focused open banking partnership.
The companies announced their collaboration on Tuesday (May 9), with plans to create “data-driven offerings” such as credit risk assessments, advanced analytics and insights before moving on to cross-border payments and lending solutions.
“The future of financial services is being shaped by next-generation digital innovation, with open banking and data sharing acting as a significant driver to help consumers better manage and access their finances,” said Otto WilliamsVisa’s head of product, partnerships and digital solutions for Central and Eastern Europe, the Middle East and Africa.
“As we look to the future of digital financial services, it is clear that the key drivers of growth will be innovation and transparency.”
The partnership comes just days after Tarabut Gateway announced it raised $32 million in a Series A round where the investors included Visa.
The company said it wants to use the funds to expand in Saudi Arabia, which has made open banking and other forms of FinTech innovation a key pillar of its Vision 2030 economic development strategy.
As FinTech leaders from other parts of the Gulf region have told PYMNTS on several occasions, Saudi Arabia’s large market and increasingly sophisticated regulatory and technical infrastructure have made it an attractive place for companies from Gulf FinTech hubs such as Dubai and Bahrain to expand.
Abdullah AlmoayedTarabut’s founder and CEO, said the partnership will allow the company to “leverage our data infrastructure to bring new and improved products to customers.”
“As a visionary in the payments industry, Visa’s solutions will support innovation and collaboration across MENA [Middle East and North Africa] financial sector, and our strategic alignment will strengthen this partnership,” Almoayed added.
This year, Tarabut Gateway has teamed up with Rainthe first regulated cryptocurrency trading platform in the MENA region.
The cooperation involves Rain using Tarabut Gateway’s open bank payment solution to allow on- and off-ramp (fiat-crypto-fiat) transfers for users, increasing speed and reducing errors associated with traditional bank transfers.
“Our partnership with Rain is a perfect cross-sector synergy, made possible by Bahrain’s advanced open banking ecosystem,” Almoayed said at the time. “Crypto trading, wallets and other blockchain use cases are natural allies in opening up traditional banking and finance.”
