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Fintech Galaxy Gains Approval To Pilot Open Banking In Jordan

The Central Bank has given the go-ahead to test fintech services through JoRegBox — Jordan’s regulatory sandbox for fintech innovation.

Published

2 years ago

January 31, 2025

Nour Nasir

fintech galaxy gains approval to pilot open banking in jordan

Fintech Galaxy has secured approval from the Central Bank of Jordan (CBJ) to join JoRegBox, the country’s regulatory sandbox for fintech innovation. The green light allows the company to test and implement Open Banking services within a controlled, real-world setting, and makes Fintech Galaxy the first Open Banking provider to gain regulatory backing in Jordan.

This move aligns with CBJ’s long term vision for financial innovation, introduced in August 2023 as part of the Economic Modernization Vision (2023–2025). The program’s purpose is to establish Jordan as a fintech hub, attracting investment in high-tech financial solutions. JoRegBox provides a supervised testing environment for fintech firms, in a bid to foster widespread financial inclusion and build more consumer-centric financial services.

Riyadh Al Zamil, Chairman of Fintech Galaxy’s Board of Directors, expressed his enthusiasm: “We are proud and honored to receive the Central Bank of Jordan’s approval to test and introduce Open Banking services to the country through the JoRegBox regulatory sandbox. This milestone underscores our commitment to fostering financial inclusion, enabling innovation, and empowering Jordan’s economy through Open Banking”.

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Mirna Sleiman, Founder and CEO of Fintech Galaxy, echoed the sentiment: “The Central Bank of Jordan’s approval is a testament to our shared vision of fostering innovation and inclusivity in the financial sector. By leveraging FINX Connect, we aim to empower financial institutions and third-party providers with data aggregation and payment initiation services, ultimately improving the lives of consumers across Jordan”.

Open Banking services allow banks and payment providers to share customer data securely with third-party providers (with their prior consent). Fintech Galaxy’s FINX Connect platform enables real-time bank account data aggregation and payment initiation, enhancing customer access to personalized financial services and simplifying payment processing.

To support its expansion, Fintech Galaxy has raised $9 million for platform development and market growth. The Jordanian arm, led by Zaid Khatib, will integrate with banks and financial institutions country-wide, focusing on Personal Finance Management (PFM) and Business Finance Management (BFM) applications.

News

Microsoft Plans $10 Billion-Plus Gulf Expansion Despite Iran Conflict

Security is shaping Microsoft’s approach, from resilience work with governments to what it will say about how the money splits by country.

Published

4 days ago

September 24, 2026

Nour Nasir

Microsoft

Microsoft is planning more than $10 billion of investment across the UAE, Saudi Arabia, Qatar and Kuwait through 2030, Vice Chair and President Brad Smith told Reuters, calling the spending schedule aggressive. The Iranian conflict that began on February 28 has not persuaded the company to scale back.

“We’re sustaining all the investments we planned to make before this conflict started, and we are in fact adding to them,” Smith said. The $10 billion-plus total does not, however, show how large those additions are.

The investment, which Smith described as part of Microsoft’s continued infrastructure expansion, is aimed at cloud and AI infrastructure and at the company’s growing regional operations. Microsoft also intends to put more than $400 million into subsea and terrestrial connectivity across the Middle East by 2030.

The spending fits the region’s own ambitions too. Gulf governments have been investing heavily in AI infrastructure as part of a push to diversify their economies beyond oil and gas and turn themselves into global technology hubs. Major cloud and AI providers have been drawn in part by the land and relatively low-cost energy on offer.

Microsoft is widening its partnerships with regional AI companies, though not on identical terms. In 2024, it invested $1.5 billion in Abu Dhabi-based G42 for a minority stake, and Smith currently sits on G42’s board. Saudi Arabia’s Humain and Qatar’s Qai are working with Microsoft on selected priority areas, but Smith said the company does not plan to make capital investments in either.

Also Read: Egypt’s Mobile Wallets Are Booming, But Cash Still Has Power

The conflict has added another strand to Microsoft’s work in the region. Since it began, Smith said, the company has supported regional partners with digital resilience assessments, and it is now working with Gulf countries through a digital resilience initiative focused on preparedness and the protection of critical data.

So far, the company has given no country-by-country breakdown of the investment, citing security among other factors. So while the headline figure is public, how Microsoft divides the spending among the four countries is not.