News

Oracle Opens A New Cloud Region In Abu Dhabi

Oracle aims to operate a network of at least 44 cloud regions globally by the end of 2022.

Published

4 years ago

November 13, 2021

David Morelo

oracle opens a new cloud region in abu dhabi

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The demand for cloud computing has surged massively in the Middle East since the outbreak of the pandemic, and companies like Oracle are happy to meet it.

Earlier this week, the Texas-based company announced the opening of its second cloud region in the United Arab Emirates, providing local businesses with global, secure, and high-performance environments that they can use to support their workloads.

The new cloud region is located in Abu Dhabi, and, together with the older Dubai region, it supports the UAE’s Fourth Industrial Revolution Strategy.

“With the Dubai and Abu Dhabi Regions, we have the required cloud infrastructure for organizations across public and private sectors, including SMBs, to accelerate their digital transformation,” said Oracle’s executive vice president of Technology for the EMEA region, Richard Smith.

According to Oracle, the main benefits of the Abu Dhabi Region for local businesses include easier data compliance, reduced costs, enhanced performance, superior resiliency, higher availability, improved customer experiences, and more. Because the region is built on Oracle Cloud Infrastructure (OCI), new customers should be able to migrate existing workloads with ease.

Also Read: UAE Central Bank Establishes Cybersecurity Operations Center

Oracle is a major player in the Middle East, and its clients include everyone from Abu Dhabi Customs to Emaar Properties to Mashreq Bank. Jae Sook Evans, Oracle’s chief information officer, said that the Middle East is a priority region for the company.

Oracle aims to operate a network of at least 44 cloud regions globally by the end of 2022. Currently, it has 34 cloud regions globally, with new regions also set to open in Europe, Asia, and Latin America. Its largest competitors in the Middle East include IBM, Amazon Web Services, SAP, and Alibaba Cloud.

The cloud market in the Middle East is forecasted to reach over $8.79 Billion by 2022, up from $2.17 Billion in 2016.

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.

Published

2 days ago

June 19, 2025

Nour Nasir

stake powers instant payouts with checkout.com pay to card

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.

Also Read: Binance Enters Syrian Market As Sanctions Lifted

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.