7 Popular Middle East Fintech Trends 2021

7 Popular Middle East Fintech Trends 2021

The Middle East fintech sector is undergoing a period of incredible transformation. From fintech funding upsurges, to rising fintech adoption, growing financial inclusion and a growing number of homegrown startups, Middle East fintech is evolving rapidly and in many directions.

This largely has to do with policy-level support and regulatory nudges, especially in the UAE, Bahrain and Saudi Arabia. The wider GCC region is pushing for economic diversification and an ever so slight shift to a more open economy than before. In this context, technology has asserted its dominance, especially in the space of banking and financial services.

As the Middle East fintech ecosystem broadens, a number of trends have emerged as potentially winning bets. Read ahead for seven of the most fast-growing Middle East fintech trends.

Top Middle East fintech trends

1. Open Banking

Bahrain was the first to make a move in the space of open banking, and since then, this fintech sector has gathered quite a bit of steam. Both the UAE and Saudi Arabia have entered this space with their own initiatives, while Bahrain has embarked onto the second phase of its Open Banking Framework. Tarabut Gateway, Lean and Dapi are the current open banking startups to watch out for in the region.

Oliver Reppel, Managing Director for Banking