Saxo Bank opens in Abu Dhabi to target UAE investors
Online investment bank Saxo Bank has opened an office in Abu Dhabi to target demand for sophisticated financial services from the increasingly wealthy population of the United Arab Emirates.
Middle East
Emirates NBD launches tablet banking for priority customers
Emirates NBD has launched a tablet banking service, which it says makes it the first bank in the Middle East to offer tablet-based financial planning. Launched for the bank’s priority banking relationship managers and wealth management advisors, the new apps allow them to access customer information using their tablets.
Commercial Bank of Qatar adopts Experian credit risk tools
Commercial Bank of Qatar has implemented a new tool from Experian into its credit risk team, which it says will help it to automate customer scoring and decision making on loans and credit cards.
Abu Dhabi Securites Exchange gets X-stream trading engine
Abu Dhabi Securities Exchange has gone live on a new trading engine provided by US exchange group Nasdaq OMX. The upgrade project provides the Middle Eastern exchange a trading platform that will allow it to trade new asset classes and further its rivalry against Dubai and other regional exchanges.
International Bank of Qatar clamps down on money laundering
The International Bank of Qatar has installed a financial crime risk management platform from tech vendor Fiserv, which it says will help it to better manage its money laundering and fraud prevention strategy.
Middle East exchange quartet plan trading platform migration
Four Middle Eastern exchanges – Amman, Beirut, Tunis and Muscat – are to migrate to Euronext’s Universal Trading Platform, replacing the older NSC trading engine they are currently using.
BGC Partners to launch Islamic murabaha contracts in Dubai
US broker BGC Partners and UAE government-run free zone the Dubai Multi Commodity Centre have done a deal to promote Islamic ‘Murabaha’ products, as part of a drive to turn Dubai into an Islamic finance hub. The DMCC has a trade platform called DMCC Tradeflow, which operates in the Jumeirah Lakes Towers Free Zone. A […]
Omani Bank Muscat automates investments with Charles River tools
Oman’s Bank Muscat has installed tech firm Charles River’s investment management solution for its asset management business in the Arabian country, which covers equity and fixed income.
Monitise targets Turkish mobile money
Mobile money firm Monitise has acquired Pozitron Yazilim, an Istanbul-based mobile technology specialist, in a £24 million all-shares deal that highlights the growing demand for mobile financial services in the eastern Mediterranean’s largest market.
Carriers sink Asia-Middle East-Africa-Europe cable
Hong Kong-based carrier services firm PCCW Global has banded together with 16 other high profile international network operators, including China Unicom, Telecom Egypt, Etisalat and Ooredoo, to construct a high capacity submarine cable system between Asia, Africa and Europe.
Türkiye Finans rolls out remote management to 145 branches
Turkish bank Türkiye Finans Katılım Bankası is collaborating with US infrastructure company Opengear to roll out remote management technology for its bank branch network, which it says will help to cut costs and improve efficiency.
MasterCard snaps up Turkish payments specialist Provus
MasterCard has acquired Turkish payments provider Provus in a deal that the firm says will increase its processing presence in a “high growth” payments market.
Saudi Arabia’s NCB revamps tech platform Islamic finance
Islamic finance specialist firm NCB Capital Company has installed a Charles River front and middle office investment management platform, as part of a drive to improve internal efficiencies in its Saudi business.
Bank of Beirut installs Misys Sophis toolkit
Bank of Beirut has gone live on Misys Sophis Value platform, which the bank says will help it increase its STP rate, manage trade repository and cross-asset collateral and margin, and better interact with Lebanon’s other banks.
Garanti Bank rolls out Turkcell mobile wallet
Turkey’s Garanti Bank and mobile operator Turkcell have partnered with Visa Europe in a deal aimed at bringing the Turkcell mobile wallet to more consumers in Turkey.
AIBK Bank Egypt adopts Temenos T24 banking tools
Arab Investment Bank Egypt has chosen Temenos T24 as its technology platform as it draws up its expansion plans for North Africa’s largest economy.
Standard Chartered competes roll out of corporate actions platform
Standard Chartered has completed the rollout of its corporate actions platform across 39 countries in Asia, Africa and the Middle East, which the bank says will help clients cut costs and reduce their corporate actions risk exposure.
Saudi exchange opts for Nasdaq OMX trading engine
Saudi Arabia’s stock exchange the Tadawul has signed a deal with Nasdaq OMX to replace its trading engine with Nasadaq OMX’s X-Stream INET technology, beginning in January 2014.
Borsa Istanbul revitalises Turkish capital markets
Created in April 2013, Turkey’s new Borsa Istanbul exchange is at the heart of an ambitious project to turn Istanbul into a major global trading centre. With the country’s economy ascendant, Turkey has a lot to offer, according to Ali Çöplü, chief information officer of Borsa İstanbul.
Turkish Garanti Bank launches ‘Facebook’ mobile banking app
Turkey’s Garanti Bank has launched a new ‘socially integrated’ mobile banking service called iGaranti, which connects with Facebook, Twitter and FourSquare to help users send money to friends and family.
Market data boost for Qatar and UAE as ratings status upgrade kicks in
The effects of Qatar and United Emirates’ impending upgrade by ratings agency MSCI are starting to ripple through to financial services firms, as Interactive Data Corporation beefs up its market data service to the Middle East and North Africa.
Misys targets branch innovation in Middle East
Rising technological sophistication offers the chance to reinvent retail banking in the Middle East, says Chris Weddell, business solutions group director Middle East and Africa at bank software and systems vendor Misys.
Bahrain Bourse to install Nasdaq OMX trading engine
The Bahrain Bourse is to replace its trading platform with a new one provided by Nasdaq OMX, as the Bourse aims to become a trading hub in the Persian Gulf region.
Saudi Riyad Bank rebuilds treasury tech with Calypso
Saudi Arabia’s Riyad Bank has chosen technology company Calypso Technology to help revamp its treasury operations and improve its back office.
Online payments on rise in Turkey
A partnership between German and Turkish payments specialists aims to take advantage of Turkey’s rising levels of online commerce, with the help of three Turkish banks.
New Turkish exchange embraces Nasdaq OMX technology
Turkey’s newly-merged Borsa Istanbul has formed a deal with Nasdaq OMX, under which the new Turkish market will take up Nasdaq trading, clearing, market surveillance and risk technology.
Iraq Stock Exchange prepares new trading system
The Iraq Stock Exchange is to upgrade its trading technology using Nasdaq OMX, in a project that highlights the progress made by the country’s stock market since the American-led invasion in 2003.
Nasdaq Dubai prepares Islamic finance products
Nasdaq Dubai is planning to open an Islamic finance exchange for trading Islamic sukuk bonds as well as conventional bonds.
Turkey tops table at TradeTech
Prospects for Turkey’s capital markets gave delegates cause for optimism as the TradeTech conference and exhibition in London wound to a close on Thursday. “Turkey is moving from an emerging to a developed market,” said Alexis Chryssochoides, head of prop trading and product development at Eurobank Equities. “The country has already been upgraded by several […]
Mobile money to transform Turkish transport and US retail
Turkish operator Turkcell and SIM card and mobile security solutions provider Gemalto have each found themselves at the hearts of two mobile payment projects that promise to transform the transport and retail sectors in Turkey and the USA respectively.
National Bank of Abu Dhabi keeps watch over ATMs
The National Bank of Abu Dhabi has adopted a monitoring service from Canadian technology company Inetco Systems, which it says will enable it to better keep track of its ATMs and ensure they are working properly.
National Bank of Abu Dhabi rewires banking system
The National Bank of Abu Dhabi is strengthening the resilience of its internal technology as it seeks to embrace mobile and expand its coverage beyond the United Arab Emirates.
Bank AlJazira upgrades Saudi data centres with Siemon
Bank AlJazira has commissioned infrastructure specialist Siemon to supply the IT infrastructure for new data centres across Saudi Arabia as part of its strategy for growth and to secure technical advantage. Siemon was selected as the supplier of choice in a competitive tender with two other industry-leading manufacturers. According to Ahmed Al Hassan, head of […]
