News

Crypto Trading Launches On The Sarwa App

Sarwa comes with a number of useful features to help its users trade more comfortably, including daily and weekly investing news, watchlists, as well as limit and stop orders.

Published

4 years ago

May 31, 2022

David Morelo

Sarwa

With the global economic outlook not showing any signs of recovery, there are increasingly many people who are looking to diversify their investment portfolios to protect their money from the painful bite of inflation.

Despite the risks associated with them, cryptocurrencies can provide a better return on investment than the stock market, but getting started with them can be a challenge.

Now, Sarwa, a personal finance and investment platform, is making crypto trading more accessible with the launch of Sarwa Crypto, a commission-free trading platform with support for Bitcoin, Ether, Litecoin, and Bitcoin Cash.

By launching Sarwa Crypto, Sarwa Digital Wealth (Capital) Limited, the company behind the platform, gives its users even more options to invest their money.

“Having access to investing in a simple, regulated, and low-cost environment should be a priority and available for all in the region,” said Mark Chahwan, co-founder and CEO of Sarwa. “There is a significant amount of interest around cryptocurrency in the GCC, even with the recent market development. Yet you didn’t have a platform that offered a centralized view of stocks, ETFs, and crypto in one safe, innovative and easy-to-use app. You do now.”

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In addition to making it easy to buy and sell cryptocurrencies, Sarwa comes with a number of useful features to help its users trade more comfortably, including daily and weekly investing news, watchlists, as well as limit and stop orders.

The platform has been designed from the ground up with security in mind, and it protects user data with 256-bit encryption. What’s also reassuring is that Sarwa is regulated by both the Dubai Financial Services Authority (DFSA) and the Financial Regulatory Services Authority (FSRA).

For its services, Sarwa charges its users a flat fee of 0.85%, 0.7%, or 0.5% per year, depending on how much they trade, and there are no hidden surprise fees or lock-in periods to worry about.

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.

Published

4 days ago

August 1, 2026

Nour Nasir

syria just got its first super app featuring built-in digital payments

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.

my syria super app launch event

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.

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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.