News
botim money & Binance Weigh UAE Path For Regulated Crypto Access
Talks between botim money and Binance test how crypto could sit inside a fast-growing UAE fintech stack.
botim money, one of the MENA region’s fastest-growing fintech platforms, has signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with cryptocurrency exchange Binance to examine whether crypto features can be slotted into the UAE-based super-app’s financial tools. The deal, sealed during Binance Blockchain Week in Dubai, marks botim’s latest push beyond messaging toward a fuller payments and investment layer.
The companies are studying how Binance’s digital-asset infrastructure might mesh with botim’s domestic and cross-border rails. The work starts with basic questions: what services can be offered under the UAE’s rulebook, and how to deliver them without creating risk for users already relying on the app for daily transfers.
Catherine Chen, Head of VIP & Institutional at Binance, said: “Crypto is no longer a niche asset class and it is increasingly becoming integrated into everyday financial services. Our collaboration with botim money to make digital assets accessible to botim’s tech-savvy customers exemplifies this shift”.
botim money’s pitch has long centered on users with thin links to the banking system. Crypto access, if approved, would extend that mission to communities seeking simpler ways to move or store value. Sacha Haider, Chief Strategy Officer at Astra Tech/botim, said the potential integration “allows us to build on this foundation and offer customers new ways to engage with the digital economy”.
Also Read: Cartlow Rolls Out Subscription Model For GCC Retail Platform
The UAE has carved out a regulatory lane for digital assets, drawing exchanges and fintechs into controlled experiments. That backdrop gives partnerships like this room to test consumer-facing products while regulators watch the perimeter.
If botim and Binance advance beyond this exploratory phase, the move would strengthen the region’s bid to root digital-asset activity in mainstream finance and add weight to botim’s regional fintech ambitions.
News
Syria Just Got Its First Super App Featuring Built-In Digital Payments
Built by UAE-based Syrian founders with the Ministry of Tourism’s backing, My Syria lands as visitor numbers more than double.
For most of the past decade, paying for anything in Syria with an international card was effectively impossible. Sanctions, a collapsed banking sector, and years of isolation left the country running on cash. That is what makes the launch of My Syria — the country’s first super app — more than a routine product announcement.
Developed by 121 Living, a company founded by four UAE-based Syrian entrepreneurs — Rami Kaiem, Feras Kaiem, Waseem Qudmani, and Kinan Madi — the app launched in Damascus on July 30 under the patronage of Minister of Tourism Mazen Al-Salhani. It bundles hotels, restaurants, transport, attractions, food delivery, and other lifestyle services into a single platform, currently offering eight services with plans to expand to more than 40 verified tourism and hospitality providers across the country.
Although the app already sounds enticing, the headline feature is its built-in payments. My Syria is the first platform in Syria to support cross-border digital payments through Apple Pay, Google Pay, Visa, Mastercard, and American Express — familiar tools for international visitors, and a route into the digital economy for local businesses that have long operated outside it.
The launch rides on a sharp rebound for the troubled country. Syria’s tourism sector recorded 3.52 million visitor arrivals in the first half of 2026, a 111 percent increase over the 1.67 million during the same period in 2025 — a mix of returning expatriates, regional visitors, and international tourists.
Also Read: This UAE Platform Wants To Replace Fashion Photo Shoots With AI
The Ministry of Tourism, which supported and supervised the app’s development, frames the launch as proof of concept for a wider strategy. “Digital transformation is one of the Ministry’s strategic priorities because it enables us to build a more competitive, connected and investment-ready tourism sector,” Al-Salhani said, inviting technology companies “globally, regionally and locally” to explore opportunities across the wider economy.
For 121 Living, this is phase one, with additional services and expanded geographic coverage planned. Whether a super app can flourish in a market still rebuilding its infrastructure is an open question, but for the first time in years, a visitor to Damascus can pay for dinner with their phone.
Syria Just Got Its First Super App Featuring Built-In Digital Payments
Shokz OpenFit Pro Review: Open-Ear Audio Finally Grows Up
This UAE Platform Wants To Replace Fashion Photo Shoots With AI
Nike And Hyperice’s New Slides Heat And Vibrate Your Feet
Samsung’s Fold Goes Wide, And The Whole Galaxy Range Gets Pricier
Meta’s New AI Tool Builds Images From Public Instagram Photos
TikTok Hopes Labels And Literacy Will Tame AI-Generated Content
Tamper With The Recording LED & Meta’s Glasses Kill Camera
YouTube Rolls Out Supervised Children’s Accounts Across MENA
Samsung’s Galaxy Watch 9 And Ultra 2 Specs Leak Ahead Of Unpacked
-
News2 months agoLUVED Is A New Curated Preloved Marketplace For The UAE
-
News2 months agoInstagram Now Lets You Tune Its Algorithm, But There’s One Big Catch
-
News2 months agoMax Fashion Brings AI Virtual Try-Ons To Gulf Online Shoppers
-
News2 months agoDeezer’s Free AI Detector Reveals What’s Hiding In Your Playlists