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Tariq Al-Mansouri

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PUBLISHED BY ICN PRESS

  • UAE banks phase out OTPs to meet a central bank deadline at the end of March 2026.
  • Text and email codes give way to in-app approvals confirmed by fingerprint or face scan.
  • Banks now carry the cost of fraud linked to old OTP based logins.
  • Digital payments keep growing fast, raising the value of stronger and safer security.

UAE banks phase out OTPs to protect your money from rising online fraud and theft. The shift replaces text message codes with secure approvals inside your everyday banking app. Lenders across the country now move customers to in-app authentication banking for daily payments. Customers receive a quick notification, check the details, and confirm with a fingerprint or face scan. This method blocks the SIM swap scams and phishing tricks behind many recent losses.

The UAE Central Bank OTP directive sets a clear deadline for every licensed lender. By the March 2026 OTP deadline, all banks must drop text and email codes. Regulators issued the rule in July 2025 and gave lenders roughly twenty months to comply. Online fraud keeps rising worldwide, so the country wants stronger and faster protection for you.

Many lenders moved early because fraud cases climbed sharply over the past twelve months. Banks now carry the full cost of fraud linked to old OTP based logins. New liability rules push every lender to adopt safer tools quickly without long delays. Commercial Bank of Dubai began the switch early this year with an in-app secure code. Adoption came fast, and the bank now runs all secure online card checks this way.

How the new approval works

A CBD spokesperson said over 80 per cent of active users now use the secure code. The lender said the response shows strong demand for a safer digital authentication experience. Emirates NBD has moved more than 2.5 million card customers to in-app approvals already. Dubai’s largest bank ran the move gradually so customers kept a smooth and secure experience. The lender partnered with Emirates Face Recognition to support strong biometric banking verification for payments. It expects to finish all remaining journeys by mid-March, ahead of the official cutoff.

Digital payments keep growing fast across the country, which raises the value of tight security. Banks expect digital payments to reach 132 billion dollars by 2028 from 43 billion in 2023. Stronger logins protect this growth and keep your savings safer during every online transaction. From my standpoint, this dual focus on safety and speed gives customers real long-term value. The SMS OTP phase-out UAE plan aligns with similar moves in Singapore and Malaysia. Those countries dropped text codes after phishing scams hit many everyday bank account holders. Security experts say the country now leads the region in app-based payment approvals. You should download your bank app and register before the rule takes full effect.

Why UAE banks are phasing out OTPs now

UAE banks phase out OTPs because text codes no longer stop modern fraud attacks. Criminals can intercept a code, but they cannot copy your fingerprint or face scan. When UAE banks phase out OTPs fully, your everyday transactions become harder to hijack. Commercial Bank of Dubai said it stays focused on a compliant and secure customer experience. Acting now means UAE banks phase out OTPs smoothly while you keep banking without stress. The next few weeks will define how the country secures its fast-growing digital economy.

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  • Banking, Banking System, Government, UAE

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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.

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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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