Yalla payment services approval brings the UAE closer to cashless finance

July 28, 2026
3 min read

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.

Apple App Store Security Lawsuit Follows $1.8M Fake Wallet Bitcoin Theft

An Apple App Store security lawsuit filed in California accuses the company of negligence after three users lost more than $1.8 million in Bitcoin to a counterfeit wallet app. The complaint landed in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California. Plaintiffs James Ramirez, Christopher Ellis, and Jalen Delgado say they downloaded an app presented as Sparrow Wallet, entered their recovery credentials, and watched their funds move to accounts they did not control.

The mechanism was simple. Sparrow Wallet is desktop software for Windows, macOS, and Linux. Its developer has never shipped an iOS version. The app the plaintiffs installed was a fake crypto wallet app that borrowed the Sparrow name and look, then asked each user for a seed phrase. A seed phrase is the master key to a crypto wallet, a short list of words that grants full control over the funds inside. Once a user types it into an attacker’s app, the coins can be moved out in minutes.

How the Sparrow Wallet scam worked

The losses came in stages. According to the complaint, Delgado installed the app around May 1, 2025, entered his seed phrase, and soon found roughly $120,000 in Bitcoin gone. Ellis installed a similar app months later and lost about $840,000. Ramirez lost close to $875,000. Each transfer sent the coins to wallets held by the scammers.

This seed phrase scam depends on trust in the store, not on breaking any code. No servers were hacked. The plaintiffs argue the App Store crypto scam succeeded because Apple placed the fake listing inside curated cryptocurrency collections, which read as a recommendation to buyers. Some victims reported the theft to Apple and saw little response, according to the filing.

What the Apple App Store security lawsuit claims

The Apple App Store security lawsuit centers on one long-running company argument. Apple reviews apps before they reach users and says that review keeps the platform safe. The complaint quotes Apple’s own marketing about superior security and trustworthiness, then says the fake Bitcoin wallet App Store listing shows the promise fell short. It also points to Craig Raw, the developer of the real Sparrow Wallet, who said in a January 2024 post that a scam copy stayed live weeks after he reported it.

Raw’s account adds a second layer. When he submitted a placeholder app to warn iOS users that no mobile version existed, Apple rejected it and briefly flagged his developer account for dishonest activity. Apple later reversed that flag. Raw has spoken publicly for years about how slowly the company removed copycats.

Apple’s response and the wider stakes

Apple declined to comment on the Apple App Store security lawsuit itself. The company defended its review process to TechCrunch, saying apps that impersonate others break its guidelines and get removed quickly. Apple said no Sparrow Wallet copies are on the store now. It also cited 2025 enforcement figures, including more than 371,000 rejected submissions that copied apps, spammed, or misled users, and 193,000 terminated developer accounts.

The complaint alleges other fake Sparrow apps still sit in the store, a claim Apple disputes. Plaintiffs want a jury trial, their money back, and required warnings about App Store risks. The case tests whether Apple’s safety marketing creates a legal duty the company can be held to. For users, the lesson sits lower down. No legitimate wallet asks for a seed phrase inside an app pulled from a store search.

By Salma Al-Tamimi
3 min read

Kuwait

Kuwait Oil Company $16 billion pipeline lease opens door to global capital

The $16 billion pipeline lease signed by Kuwait Oil Company gives three of the world’s biggest investors a share of the oil arteries that have carried Kuwaiti crude for decades. Kuwait Petroleum Corporation announced the agreement on Saturday. Its subsidiary, KOC, leases usage rights to all 13 of its pipelines into a newly formed Kuwaiti joint venture. Backing that venture: Blackstone, Brookfield and KKR.

Here’s the clever part. The pipelines never leave Kuwaiti hands.

How the $16 billion pipeline lease works

The structure is a lease-and-leaseback agreement, and it runs 20.5 years. KOC leases the network to the joint venture, then the venture leases the same pipelines straight back to KOC. In return, KOC keeps exclusive rights to use, operate and maintain every kilometre, and pays a tariff tied to the volume of crude that flows through. Roughly 320 kilometres of pipe sit inside the deal.

Ownership splits cleanly. KOC holds 51% of the joint venture and full operational control. Blackstone, Brookfield and KKR share the other 49%, each taking an equal one-third slice. The State of Kuwait still decides how much oil the country pumps and refines. No investor gets a vote on that.

Why $7.85 billion matters now

Cash is the point. The $16 billion pipeline lease is expected to generate $7.85 billion in upfront proceeds for KOC once the transaction closes. That money feeds Kuwait Petroleum Corporation’s spending plans, including a target of 4 million barrels of crude production capacity a day by 2035.

Think of it like remortgaging a house you fully intend to keep living in. You pull cash out today against an asset you still control, and you agree to steady payments over time. Kuwait gets funding without selling the pipelines or handing over the taps.

A signal to global investors

The timing tells its own story. Shaikh Nawaf Saud Al-Sabah, Deputy Chairman and CEO of KPC, called Project Peregrine the largest foreign direct investment in Kuwait’s history. He said the deal shows Kuwait rising as a destination for global capital, even amid a challenging regional environment.

That environment is real. The agreement lands as regional tensions weigh on the Gulf, yet three major asset managers still committed long-term money. Blackstone plans to open an office in Kuwait on the back of it.

The Kuwait Oil Company pipeline deal follows a path other Gulf producers already walked. Saudi Arabia’s Aramco and Abu Dhabi National Oil Company ran similar pipeline fundraisings, pulling private capital into infrastructure while keeping control of the barrels. The $16 billion pipeline lease puts Kuwait firmly in that company.

What happens next

The transaction is governed by Kuwaiti law. It still needs customary closing conditions and regulatory approvals before the money moves. Centerview Partners, HSBC and J.P. Morgan advised KPC on the deal.

For you as a reader watching where oil money flows, the message is direct. Gulf producers now treat their pipelines as financial assets, not fixed furniture. The $16 billion pipeline lease shows how a state oil company can raise billions today while keeping its hands on the wheel. Expect more deals shaped like this one.

By Tariq Al-Mansouri
3 min read

Digital Payments