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Amira Khalil

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PUBLISHED BY ICN PRESS

  • Yalla Financial Solutions received an In-Principle Approval from the Central Bank of the UAE for a Retail Payment Services Category II License.
  • The approval falls under the CBUAE Retail Payment Services and Card Schemes Regulation and is not the final license yet.
  • CEO and Founder Waleed Sadek called it a milestone in the company’s journey toward secure payment infrastructure.
  • Once Yalla meets the remaining requirements, it can expand its payment capabilities in the UAE.

The Yalla payment services approval moves a growing fintech one step closer to serving customers across the UAE. On Monday, Yalla Financial Solutions said the Central Bank of the UAE (CBUAE) had granted it an In-Principle Approval for a Retail Payment Services Category II License. The nod falls under the CBUAE Retail Payment Services and Card Schemes Regulation. This is not the final license yet. It signals the company has cleared an early, serious gate.

What the Yalla payment services approval means for you

For anyone who taps a phone to pay for coffee or sends money home at the end of the month, licensing like this matters more than it sounds. A Category II License lets a firm handle regulated payment activity under close supervision. Behind the paperwork sits a simple promise. Your money should move safely, and someone should answer for it if something goes wrong.

The Yalla payment services approval signals that the company met the CBUAE’s early conditions. Full authorisation still depends on finishing the remaining requirements. Once that happens, Yalla can build out its payment capabilities inside one of the most active digital finance markets anywhere.

A milestone in Yalla’s journey

Waleed Sadek, CEO and Founder of Yalla Financial Solutions, framed the moment plainly. He said receiving the In-Principle Approval reflects the company’s commitment to building trusted, secure, and innovative payment infrastructure in one of the world’s most advanced digital economies. Sadek added that the UAE has become a global hub for financial innovation through a forward-looking regulatory environment and a clear vision for digital transformation.

“We are proud to be part of this journey and look forward to working closely with the Central Bank of the UAE to complete the remaining regulatory requirements and obtain the final Retail Payment Services Category II License,” Sadek said.

Why the timing fits

The Yalla payment services approval lands as the country pushes hard toward cashless living. Dubai’s Cashless Strategy targets 90 percent of transactions going digital, according to Digital Dubai, and analysts at Mordor Intelligence value the UAE fintech market at about 52 billion dollars in 2026. Numbers like these describe a shift you can feel at the checkout counter, in the taxi, at the corner shop.

More UAE digital payments flow through licensed players each year. That growth pulls in global names and homegrown firms alike. Earlier this year, Revolut secured its own In-Principle Approval for the same Category II license, a sign of how crowded and serious this space has become.

What comes next for Yalla

The road from In-Principle Approval to a live service runs through compliance, testing, and final sign-off. As a payment service provider, Yalla must satisfy the CBUAE on safeguards for customer funds, risk controls, and reporting. None of that is quick. All of it protects the person on the other side of the transaction.

The Yalla payment services approval is a beginning, not a finish line. If the company clears the final steps, everyday users could gain another trusted way to pay, send, and receive. For a market racing toward a cashless future, one more supervised option is welcome news.

TAGS
  • Banking, Digital Payments, Yalla Payments

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Apple's iPhone Duo
  • iPhone

The iPhone Duo is Apple’s first foldable iPhone, and it opens like a small book into a 7.6-inch screen. Closed, you hold a 5.4-inch outer display that fits in a pocket. Both screens share the same aspect ratio, so a video or app scales cleanly as you move between them. Stand it up on a table, and it works hands-free for calls or video. Apple showed the phone on September 9 at its Surprise and Shine event in Cupertino, where new chief executive John Ternus led his first keynote. He said rival foldables often feel like two phones stuck together. The Duo tries to feel like one device that changes size when you need it.

What the screens and camera can do

Open the Duo and the inner display runs 50 percent larger than the iPhone 18 Pro Max. A custom nano-texture finish cuts glare and hides the crease, the seam that has annoyed foldable owners for years. Peak brightness reaches 3000 nits, so the screen stays readable outdoors. Inside, an under-display FaceTime camera keeps the view whole, with no notch breaking the screen. The rear camera leans on a 48MP Dual Fusion system with a main and an ultra-wide lens. There is no telephoto, a trade Apple made to save room in the thin body. Smart Take reads the scene and snaps the photo when everyone poses, so you can stand in the shot instead of behind it. You can also shoot 48MP photos and 4K video at up to 120 frames per second.

iPhone Duo specs that matter for daily use

The iPhone Duo specs point to a phone built for long, heavy days. Inside sits the A20 Pro chip with a vapor chamber that spreads heat during games and video edits. Apple pairs it with a dual-battery design that fits more cells into the frame. You get up to 31 hours of video on the inner screen and up to 44 hours on the outer one. Plug it in, and it reaches 50 percent in about 20 minutes. A Grade 5 titanium frame and a precision hinge give the body its strength, and Touch ID moves to the side button in place of Face ID.

iPhone Duo prices are ridiculously high

Here is the part your wallet cares about. The iPhone Duo price starts at $1,999 for 256GB in the United States, which makes it the most expensive iPhone in the lineup. In the UAE, iPhone Duo starts at AED 8,499 for the 256 GB, AED 9,349 for the 512 GB, AED 11,049 for the 1 TB, and the laptop-price level of AED 13,599 for the 2 TB. Preorders open October 16, and the iPhone Duo release date lands on October 23. Apple plans a first wave across more than 70 countries, then adds 28 more on October 30. For comparison, Samsung’s Galaxy Z Fold 8 starts near $1,899.

Why the foldable iPhone arrives only now

Apple waited years while Samsung and others sold foldables. Now the foldable iPhone brings iOS 27 features built for two screens, like Split View and apps that respond to how you hold the phone. eSIM handles the connection, since there is no SIM tray anywhere. Apple Pencil support arrives later in 2026. That gap of a few weeks after the iPhone 18 Pro points to a slower, careful rollout for a harder build. If you have wanted a phone that turns into a small tablet without feeling clumsy, this is Apple’s answer, and you can hold one this month.

  • 3 min read
Work from Park initiative
  • Business

The Work from Park initiative puts bookable workspaces inside Dubai’s public parks, starting with Al Barsha Pond Park. Dubai Municipality announced the programme on 19 April 2026 and said it had signed two memoranda of cooperation to deliver it. One went to Group AMANA, which builds the units, and the other to Letswork LLC, which operates them.

Entrepreneurs, freelancers, small and medium-sized enterprises

The structure is a public-private partnership. Dubai Municipality provides the park and the mandate. Private firms handle design, construction, and daily operation. The municipality said the model gives the private sector a route into public facilities while each site keeps its role as a park.

Target users are entrepreneurs, freelancers, small and medium-sized enterprises, and anyone doing remote work in Dubai. Content creators get dedicated production rooms, which the municipality said are meant to strengthen their place in the emirate’s creative economy.

Letswork runs the booking side. Users reserve space through the Letswork app, check in on arrival and use one membership across the company’s network of venues. The offer covers desks by the hour, event space, podcast recording and production rooms for creators. Letswork will also run training programmes and group sessions for creative talent and new businesses.

How the Work from Park initiative is built

Group AMANA delivers the first site through its DuBox unit. DuBox builds the workspace modules in a factory, then transports them to the park and assembles them on site. The municipality said this shortens the build schedule, reduces waste and lowers the environmental footprint compared with conventional construction. Units can be reconfigured later as demand shifts.

The Al Barsha Pond Park site was scheduled to open in May 2026. Letswork now lists it as a bookable venue on its platform. The listing describes modular pods with high-speed Wi-Fi, power and climate-controlled seating, plus podcast studios and creative production rooms. Members can book day passes, meeting rooms and private offices under one Letswork membership.

Dubai Municipality said the Work from Park initiative would add more sites across the emirate later in 2026. Locations and opening dates for those have yet to be confirmed.

Bader Anwahi, CEO of the Public Facilities Agency at Dubai Municipality, said the partnerships combine advanced construction methods with private sector expertise to produce public infrastructure “that is flexible, sustainable, and aligned with modern lifestyles and work patterns.”

Richard Abboud, CEO of Group AMANA, said modular construction lets the company build efficient, adaptable units at speed.

Why the Work from Park initiative fits Dubai’s planning goals

The programme sits under three policy frameworks. Dubai’s 2040 Parks and Greenery Strategy targets 95 million park visits a year by 2040. Land use falls under the Dubai Urban Plan 2040. Economic targets through 2033 come from the Dubai Economic Agenda D33.

Omar AlMheiri, co-founder of Letswork, said the partnership would add dedicated creative spaces and podcast studios. He described it as a step toward changing where and how people in the UAE do flexible work.

Dubai Municipality describes the Work from Park initiative as the first of its kind. Existing Dubai coworking spaces operate from office towers, hotels and retail sites. This programme moves the format onto municipal parkland, with the municipality as host and a private platform as operator.

Outdoor workspaces in Dubai face one obvious constraint: summer heat. The Letswork listing addresses this with climate-controlled seating inside the pods. Demand across a full year of operation will show whether the format holds. The second site, once announced, will be the next signal of how fast the municipality intends to scale.

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