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Ashar Nazim and Oliver Rajic

Bahrain's Finocracy partners with top Singapore firm

MANAMA, October 18, 2017

Singapore’s Alpha Fintech is entering the high-growth GCC market, teaming up with Bahrain-based Finocracy, a financial technology (fintech) solution provider.  
 
Alpha Fintech specialises in end-to-end payment solution, enabling banks to quickly access new fintech partners across the entire payments, risk and commerce spectrum. The company is backed by Wells Fargo’s accelerator program and First Quay Capital, said a statement.
 
The partnership opens up opportunities for GCC retailers to capitalise on 20 per cent year-on-year e-commerce market growth, it said. 
 
“The GCC region is in a unique and perfect position to surpass most other regions with respect to Fintech. The banks truly understand the need to catch up and have displayed an open mind to overhaul legacy approaches and mind-sets and invest into new technologies and operating models,” commented Oliver Rajic, CEO of Alpha.
 
Almost one-third of retailers in GCC now offer online shopping experience and the trend is gaining momentum. Several high profile deals announced in recent months, including souq.com and others have set the pace for accelerated innovation in online commerce in GCC.
 
“We are truly delighted to be partnering up with Finocracy to bring this solution to GCC. Imagine the impact on new fintechs where as soon as they are ready to launch, dozens of banks and thousands of merchants can instantly and risk-free access and test the solutions. This would accelerate the pace of innovation and new solutions for GCC consumers,” added Rajic.
 
Banks have been held back from fully participating in the new digital economy due to their legacy technology systems and the costly and cumbersome process to integrate fintech solutions within their offering, the statement said.
 
Ashar Nazim, managing director of Finocracy, said: “The teaming agreement between Alpha and Finocracy promises to significantly bring down the cost and complexity of integration for banks, vendors and fintech players. This will directly contribute to improving the speed to market and the profitability of banks in the region. This will create 2-3 clear leaders in each of the GCC market, and these will be banks that are able to start early.”
 
Similar to a marketplace, the Alpha platform provides a single user interface connecting merchants with vendors spanning the full spectrum of payments, identity, fraud, risk management and commerce services, such as loyalty, delivery preferences and shipping. With expensive licensing schemes, protracted integration times and associated expenses removed, banks can now shift focus on scaling up their digital footprint, the statement said. 
 
Khalid Al Rumaihi, chief executive of Bahrain Economic Development Board (EDB), said: “We are delighted to see further ties between Bahrain and key Fintech markets around the world. Enabling entrepreneurs and businesses in Bahrain to have access to the expertise of leading world-class Fintech centres is a key part of developing the best possible ecosystem and stimulating future growth. We believe that there are real opportunities in the Islamic Fintech sector and are very keen for Bahrain to play a leading role in helping to develop the industry, bringing together decades of experience in Islamic finance and access to some of the most advanced centres of Fintech innovation worldwide.”
 
Finocracy works alongside Islamic banks and financial institutions to invest in Fintech solutions. It brings access to the global Fintech ecosystem to assist financial institutions implement change agenda in an informed, efficient and credible manner, the company said.
 
Finocracy is aiming to roll out 15 high-impact FinTech platforms by 2022. The objective is to open up access to 10 million under-banked consumers for its clients.  – TradeArabia News Service
 



Tags: Fintech | Finocracy |

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