News
Telegram Is Getting Ready To Paywall Some Features
The good news is that the premium subscription won’t limit non-premium users in any way because all existing features will remain free.

Since its launch in 2013, cross-platform messaging app Telegram has gained over 550 million monthly active users. To continue providing unrivaled limits on chats, media, and file uploads, Telegram’s founder, Pavel Durov, has recently announced the plan to launch a paid premium subscription plan.
According to Durov, a portion of Telegram’s user base has been asking for even higher limits than what the messaging app currently offers. Unfortunately, that’s not something Telegram can afford to do for all of its 550 million monthly active users because its infrastructure expenses would skyrocket.
“After giving it some thought, we realized that the only way to let our most demanding fans get more while keeping our existing features free is to make those raised limits a paid option,” Durov explains. “That’s why this month we will introduce Telegram Premium, a subscription plan that allows anyone to acquire additional features, speed, and resources.”
The subscription plan should be available later this month, and some of the features it will unlock were previewed in a recent version of Telegram. According to information obtained by people who analyzed the beta version, the plan should cost $4.99 a month, which is only half of what Discord charges for its Nitro subscription.
Also Read: Instagram’s Amber Alert Feature Is Coming To The UAE
The good news is that the introduction of the premium subscription won’t limit non-premium users in any way because all existing features will remain free. What’s more, they will be able to view extra-large documents, media, and stickers sent by premium users, and more.
As such, the introduction of the premium subscription plan seems like good news all around because it enables Telegram to become an even better version of itself without depending solely on ad revenue, which would give advertisers the power to indirectly influence the future of the messenger. Would you pay for the Telegram premium subscription?
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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