News
Tarabut Gateway & Visa Aim To Redefine Open Banking In MENA
The partnership will merge the capabilities of both companies as they plan innovative new solutions for the MENA region.
Tarabut Gateway, the MENA region’s leading Open Banking platform, has announced a new strategic partnership with global payment leader Visa.
The companies will use their extensive Open Banking experience to collaborate on new products and solutions, such as credit risk assessments and lending, cross-border payments, and advanced analytical tools.
Tarabut Gateway currently offers various API-based solutions enabling banks, merchants, and fintech startups to build financial apps. Meanwhile, the company’s extensive Open Banking infrastructure continues to expand across Saudi Arabia, the UAE, and Bahrain.

The new partnership with Visa aims to enhance customer experiences and foster innovation across the region. It comes after Tarabut Gateway’s recent 32 million USD investment drive, in which Visa was a key participant.
Visa’s investment in Tarabut Gateway follows its recent acquisition of leading Open Banking platform Tink and represents part of a broader MENA strategy.
Abdulla Almoayed, Founder and CEO of Tarabut Gateway, explained his excitement about the collaboration:
“Our existing close relationship, through Visa’s investment in Tarabut Gateway, has paved the way for this collaboration. The progress of open banking in the Middle East in recent years has been remarkable [and] together with Visa, we will leverage our data infrastructure to bring new and improved products to customers”.
Also Read: A Guide To Digital Payment Methods In The Middle East
Meanwhile, Otto Williams, Senior Vice-President and Head of Product, Partnerships, and Digital Solutions for Visa Central and Eastern Europe, Middle East, and Africa, noted:
“The future of financial services is being shaped by next-gen digital innovation, with Open Banking and data sharing serving as a significant driver to help consumers better manage and access their finances. Our shared commitment to next-generation solutions will enable us to transform the financial landscape and offer cutting-edge services to our customers”.
News
LUVED Is A New Curated Preloved Marketplace For The UAE
Sellers keep 100 percent of every sale and AI can build a listing in five seconds — though the app’s smartest tools are still coming.
Secondhand shopping has become mainstream in the UAE, but the experience is still scattered across resale sites, social media and informal group chats. LUVED, a mobile-first marketplace that launched in Dubai this month, is betting it can pull that activity into one place — and that the thing buyers and sellers actually want is not more inventory, but trust.
The app trades in what it calls circular luxury: preloved fashion and lifestyle pieces across men’s, women’s and children’s categories, bought, sold or given away peer to peer. Its main pitch is economics, with sellers keeping 100 percent of every sale under a zero-commission, fast payout model, while buyers are promised vetted pieces at lower prices.
Where LUVED is staking its reputation is verification. Sellers pass a KYC check, and items run through a two-layer authentication system powered by Entrupy that pairs instant AI screening with human expert review for high-value pieces. Authenticity certificates travel with each item, payments sit in escrow, and a buyer-protection package the company calls The Safety Net adds a 48-hour return window and dispute resolution. Door-to-door logistics removes the in-person meetups that make most resale deals awkward.
An in-app assistant called Luvbot — offering selling insights and demand-based recommendations — is soon to be introduced to the platform. Other features include autofill and dynamic pricing that lets users build a listing in as little as five seconds from three photos, plus a swipe-based feed, story-style drops and in-app chat in English and Arabic. Finally, a gifting layer, Luved & Gifted, lets users pass items to others inside the app rather than sell them.
Also Read: Logitech’s New Folding Mouse Is Designed For Work On The Go
“After moving to Dubai, I saw how difficult it was to sell or even give things away,” says founder and CEO Shaima Sibtain. The friction is real, and so is the competition. In resale, trust is won transaction by transaction — and that is the test LUVED has set itself.
The app is live on the App Store now, with Google Play to follow. The company also plans to expand across the region, which will be the real test for a marketplace staking everything on trust.
