The Central Bank of Bahrain has officially announced the first two participants in its regulatory sandbox – Tramonex, the London-based forex cash management solution for enterprises; and NOW Money, the Dubai-based fintech startup, providing account and remittances services for low-income workers in the GCC.
Tramonex is a blockchain, offering a quick, efficient and safe way to transfer funds with a swipe of a finger. The company is now testing cross currency payments on a blockchain. Earlier this year, it received a grant of GBP 250,000 by the UK government.
The aim of NOW Money is to provide affordable financial services to anyone, low-paid migrants in the Gulf included. Last week, the company secured USD 700,000 in seed funding by two US venture capital firms.
The Bahrain Economic Board has been actively assisting both startups to register for the regulatory sandbox. Khalid Hamad, the Executive Director of Banking Supervision at CBB commented he was excited to welcome them:
This announcement is a testament to Bahrain’s attractive investment proposition in the Gulf. Bahrain is a great testbed for innovative products in this space due to its size and easy market access to the GCC.
According to Hamad, the Kingdom was ready to become a leading financial innovation and technology center in the region. He also added that Bahrain would launch some other initiatives in the next couple of months, including a venture capital fund-of-funds.