News
Meta’s Twitter Competitor, Threads, Is Available Today
The new platform uses your Instagram login and allows 500-character text posts, as well as photos, videos, and links.
Threads, the Twitter competitor created by Facebook and Instagram parent company, Meta, has finally launched after months of rumors and leaks. The platform can be accessed from a desktop site at Threads.net or via iOS and Android apps.
Threads allows users to create Twitter-style text posts of up to 500 characters plus share photos and videos of up to five minutes as well as links. The app looks much like Twitter, including a minimal interface with options to like, comment, repost, and share content. Because Threads is closely linked to Instagram, users can log in with their existing credentials and easily follow the same people from that platform.
The main feed on Threads features recommended content and posts from followed profiles, while a filter system allows users to block out certain words and limit who can reply to their threads.
Meta has decided not to add Threads support for ActivityPub right now. The decentralized social networking protocol — used by Mastodon and others — would allow the transfer of information from Threads to other hosts, among other functions.
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“We believe this decentralized approach, similar to the protocols governing email and the web itself, will play an important role in the future of online platforms,” Meta explained. “Threads is Meta’s first app envisioned to be compatible with an open social networking protocol — we hope that by joining this fast-growing ecosystem of interoperable services, Threads will help people find their community, no matter what app they use”.
The launch of Threads comes as Twitter users experience yet more drama. Elon Musk recently imposed a temporary rate limit for unverified users, limiting them to 600 daily post views. At one point, Twitter also blocked logged-out users from viewing tweets entirely before subtly reversing the decision shortly afterwards.
As for Threads, the app is available in over 100 countries — including the United Arab Emirates, Jordan, Lebanon, and Saudi Arabia — and has already been downloaded over 5 million times. Notably, the platform won’t be available in the European Union due to the complexities of complying with the region’s strict data protection regulations.
News
Stake Powers Instant Payouts With Checkout.com Pay To Card
The new feature lets investors in the UAE, KSA, and UK receive real estate returns in minutes — cutting withdrawal times to under 10 minutes.
Stake, a leading digital real estate investment platform, has unveiled Pay to Card, a next-generation withdrawal feature built on Checkout.com’s global payment infrastructure. The integration enables investors to have dividends and returns credited directly to their bank cards — often within minutes — dramatically reducing the traditional multi-day payout process.
After a successful pilot in May involving over 200 users, some investors reported receiving their funds in under 10 minutes. Ricardo Brizido, CPTO and Co-Founder of Stake, emphasized the importance of speed and reliability: “With Pay to Card, we’re eliminating unnecessary delays and putting returns in our investors’ hands almost instantly. This feature was built to directly solve one of the most common pain points in real estate investing, and it’s already driving strong results”.
The feature launch coincides with rapid growth in real-time finance across the Middle East. Checkout.com’s “State of Digital Commerce in MENA 2025” report highlights a 388% year-on-year surge in Account Funding Transactions (AFTs) in the UAE, reflecting strong demand for immediate payout solutions. The same study recorded a 176% increase in total processing volume from 2023 to 2024 and noted that daily online transactions have jumped 320% since 2020.
Since its 2021 debut, Stake has facilitated over AED 1 billion in property transactions, advancing its mission to democratize real estate investment in high-growth markets. By integrating Pay to Card, Stake reinforces its commitment to customer-centric innovation and operational transparency.
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Remo Giovanni Abbondandolo, General Manager for MENA at Checkout.com, praised the collaboration: “Stake has always led with customer-first financial experiences. Together, we’re meeting the expectations of a region that is no longer just digital-first, but real-time-first. Pay to Card exemplifies how modern payment infrastructure can directly solve investor pain points”.
Pay to Card is now available to all Stake users in the United Arab Emirates, the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, and the United Kingdom. By slashing withdrawal times from days to minutes, Stake and Checkout.com are setting a new standard for seamless, on-demand real estate investing.
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