News

RemotePass Secures $5.5M Series A Funding, Led By 212VC

The company will use the funds to drive market expansion, improve its already award-winning app, and unlock a new phase of product innovation.

Published

3 years ago

March 6, 2024

Nour Nasir

RemotePass

RemotePass, a platform aiding companies in remote workforce management, has acquired $5.5 million in a recent Series A funding round.

The round was spearheaded by 212 VC, with contributors from the US, Europe, and the Middle East, such as Endeavor Catalyst, Oraseya Capital, Khwarizmi Ventures, Flyer One Ventures, Access Bridge Ventures, A15, and Swiss Founders Fund. With the cash injection, RemotePass’s total raised funds now exceed $10 million, adding to previous investments from BECO Capital, Wamda Capital, Plug & Play, and Flat6Labs.

“Witnessing RemotePass’s remarkable product growth and stellar customer service since early 2023 solidified our belief in their visionary team & business model [which] positions them as game-changers in the UAE & KSA, hubs poised for global dominance,” said Ali Hikmet Karabey, Managing Director for lead investor 212 VC.

Established by Kamal Reggad and Karim Nadi, RemotePass caters to various sectors and clients, ranging from startups to major corporations like Spotify, Logitech, and Paymentology. The platform facilitates onboarding, management, and workforce payment in countries where companies lack local legal representation. RemotePass also allows the hiring of full-time employees and contractors across 150+ nations.

“Our platform helps democratize access to global opportunities, leveling the playing field for skilled individuals and enabling them to compete in a global job marketplace. This funding fuels our mission to empower countless lives and help global teams succeed,” explained Kamal Reggad, CEO and Co-Founder of RemotePass.

Also Read: Top 10 Best Freelance Platforms In The Middle East

Amidst the evolving global remote work trend, RemotePass has positioned itself as a leader, notably making significant gains in the MENA region. The platform is accompanied by a comprehensive “super app” delivering financial services and tailored benefits for remote workers, including varied payout options, a USD debit card, and access to premium health insurance.

Initially conceived in 2019 as a SaaS platform for business travel, RemotePass’s founders, being remote work advocates, transitioned to address the challenges of remote team management, particularly in emerging markets. The pivot, catalyzed by the COVID-19 pandemic, enabled substantial growth for the company, with a remarkable 35% month-over-month increase in the first two years, predominantly propelled by client referrals.

News

Visa’s Return To Syria Starts With A Test And A Bank In Lebanon

Foreign visitors will be the first users to benefit, but whether Syria’s own banks and cardholders follow is still an open question.

Published

2 weeks ago

August 27, 2026

Dana Saadeh

visa's return to syria starts with a test and a bank in lebanon

Visa is returning to Syria. Its first live international card transaction in the country was a test rather than a launch, and the milestone event ran through a Lebanese bank.

The acquirer (the bank on the merchant’s side of a card payment) was Fransabank Lebanon, with Paymera as the other named partner. Nadim Moujaes, who heads a Fransabank Group subsidiary, describes the test as both the culmination of “longstanding efforts to link Syria back to international payment networks” and “the first step in a larger path”.

Syrian President Ahmed Al-Sharaa makes the first electronic payment in Syria using a @Visa card at a store in Damascus, following the lifting of US sanctions on Syria. pic.twitter.com/lpAN7nQ6Fc

— Tech Magazine (@TechMGZN) August 27, 2026

“We are excited to have successfully tested live transactions today as we plan to enable international visitors to use their Visa cards while in Syria,” says Leila Serhan, Visa’s senior vice president and group country manager for the North Africa, Levant and Pakistan region. Although a significant first step, that plan doesn’t come with a hard date for when a visitor’s card will work normally.

Mohammed Safwat Raslan, governor of the Central Bank of Syria, says the test paves the way for international card acceptance in Syria and that maintaining strong compliance, risk management and operational controls will remain essential. Serhan likewise stresses that Visa has worked within applicable legal, regulatory and compliance requirements. For a test transaction, it seems there was a great deal of attention paid to the rules, with the entire operation being carefully managed.

Also Read: Lebanon’s 5G Era Begins With 150 Stations And A $1M Budget

The test is the latest step in a sequence that began in December 2025, when Visa announced a strategic roadmap to support Syria’s integration into the global digital economy. In February 2026 it hosted its first industry gathering of banks, ecosystem partners and policymakers in Damascus and, the same month, signed an agreement with Syria’s Ministry of Communications and Information Technology in San Francisco.

Michel Kattouah, Paymera’s CEO, called the test “the return of international card acceptance,” but while that’s positive news, there’s no word yet on when a Syrian bank will issue a Visa card to a Syrian customer.