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Futuristic Electric Self-Driving Trucks Are Coming To The UAE
Startup Einride is about to begin its expansion into the Middle East.

Einride, a Swedish startup and pioneer in electric autonomous freight transport, is expanding into the Middle East. The move follows a collaboration agreement with the government of the United Arab Emirates to accelerate the transition to sustainable logistics and shipping.
Founded in 2016, Einride has a grand vision to decarbonize the freight industry by developing an entire ecosystem of electric and autonomous vehicles, charging stations, and connectivity networks.
The Scandinavian firm is already operating in Europe and the United States and will soon add over 550 km of its autonomous logistics ecosystem to Abu Dhabi, Dubai, and Sharjah. The project, known as Falcon Rise Grid, will encompass 2,000 electric trucks, of which 200 will be fully autonomous. Einride will develop the project over the next five years, which will include the installation of 500 charging points and other network hardware.
“This collaboration gets to the core of what Einride provides — the transformation to effective and sustainable shipping that is fully electric,” announced Einride founder and CEO, Robert Falck. The startup, which has already partnered with the likes of Coca-Cola and Oatly, says its clients have reduced emissions by up to 95% while staying competitive.
Also Read: Dubai Hospital Delivery Drone Completes Successful First Trial
The UAE’s Falcon Rise Grid project follows a series of expansions for Einride over the past year, including Germany, Benelux, and the UK. In 2019 the company became the first to deploy an autonomous electric vehicle on a public road in Sweden, and in 2022, received approval to do the same in the United States.
News
Checkout.com Brings Visa Direct Push-To-Card To The UAE
The payment company is the first acquirer in the UAE to launch Visa Direct’s solution, enabling safe, instant money transfers.

Checkout.com has taken the UAE a step closer to its goal of a fully digital economy by becoming the first acquirer in the country to offer Visa Direct’s Push-to-Card solution. The new service will streamline money transfers for both businesses and consumers, enabling near-instant transactions across local and international markets.
Visa Direct connects over 190 markets and supports over 8.5 billion endpoints, including cards, bank accounts, and digital wallets. Push-to-Card transactions enhance efficiency for business users and consumers by allowing money to be sent quickly and easily to eligible Visa cards while leveraging the company’s secure network for reliability.
“Visa Direct is transforming the way money moves globally, and we are excited to see Checkout.com leverage this technology to meet the evolving demands of businesses and individuals alike by offering them a faster, more convenient, and secure way to send and receive funds,” said Shahebaz Khan, Senior Vice President and Head of Commercial and Money Movement Solutions, CEMEA.
The UAE has been at the forefront of digital payment adoption, driven by a national push toward a cashless economy. Remo Giovanni Abbondandolo, General Manager for MENA at Checkout.com, emphasized this shift: “By providing seamless, secure, and real-time payout capabilities, we’re empowering merchants with the agility to thrive in this fast-evolving landscape, while effectively meeting the growing consumer demand for speed and convenience. The Push-to-Card solution not only reinforces our commitment to powering payment performance but also showcases our agility in bringing yet another innovation to the UAE market.”
Also Read: Qareeb Partners With Pantheon For GCC Bitcoin Mining Expansion
Checkout.com’s latest MENA eCommerce data highlights the region’s increasing engagement with financial technologies, with around 80% of consumers participating in activities beyond basic online payments, such as money transfers and personal wealth management. The growing demand for real-time financial transactions has made fast, seamless payment solutions a priority.
To meet this demand, Account Funding Transactions (AFTs) have gained traction in the UAE. By integrating AFTs with Visa’s Push-to-Card services, Checkout.com is helping merchants offer secure, real-time account top-ups. Currently processing over one million AFTs per month with Visa, Checkout.com is now playing a leading role in modernizing financial transactions in the region.
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