UAE fintech Mamo receives regulatory approval in DIFC

Mamo, a homegrown UAE-based fintech and financial services platform for SMEs, has been granted regulatory approval to operate from Dubai International Financial Centre (DIFC), the leading global financial centre in the Middle East, Africa and South Asia (MEASA) region.

The licence has been granted by the Dubai Financial Services Authority (DFSA), the independent regulator of financial services conducted in or from DIFC, to carry out the regulated activity of providing money services. The licence allows Mamo to further expand its products and services without user restrictions and provide unmatched security while fully complying with DFSA rules.

As the global future of finance and innovation hub, DIFC offers one of the region’s most comprehensive fintech and venture capital environments, which includes cost-effective licensing solutions, fit-for-purpose regulation, innovative accelerator programmes, and funding for growth-stage start-ups.  The centre continues to attract companies to establish operations in Dubai by providing the ideal environment to help them shape the future of finance.

Mamo received DFSA authorisation to operate within the Innovation Testing Licence (ITL) programme in June 2021, which enabled it to operate in a controlled regulatory environment to test its business model. What makes this announcement significant is the diligent work by Mamo to successfully exit the ITL Programme and receive Authorised Firm status.

The regulation provides frameworks requiring transparency, fairness, and efficiency, that all regulated firms must follow. It also aims to protect businesses, consumers and users of financial (and other) services offered by regulated companies, such as Mamo.

Mamo has built a reputation for being radically customer-centric, with incredibly fast product development times – often launching and announcing multiple new features in a matter of weeks – a refreshing approach from a regional start-up.

Presently, Mamo has two products; the rapidly growing Mamo Pay for Business product that has seen exponential uptake in recent months from SMEs and is predicted to grow further with the formal regulatory green light and Mamo Pay, a Peer-to-Peer (P2P) wallet for consumers.

Mamo has its own internally built systems, including cryptographic security protocols, a fraud detection and prevention engine, and a standardised and automated financial transaction management system, minimising human errors and protecting against fraud. On the front end, Mamo has implemented digital Know Your Customer (KYC) that allows users to identify themselves quickly through a user experience that puts the user in control of their personal and private information.

Imad Gharazeddine, CEO and co-founder of Mamo, said: “We've built a financial services platform that enables both SMEs and consumers to move money faster, more efficiently and more securely in the UAE. Today marks a crucial milestone for our business and a major inflection point in our growth trajectory. Receiving full regulatory approval in DIFC allows us to continue to expand our product stack, offering new features and functionality to our customers."

"Today’s achievement marks the culmination of years of hard work and innovation, and to have the recognition by a leading regulator inthe DFSA is testament to the quality of our product, providing Mamo and its users security, safety, and peace of mind by licensing us. We are making sure we set a new example for compliance and regulation and are incredibly grateful to the DFSA for their support and guidance through the process.”

Arif Amiri, CEO of DIFC Authority, said DIFC’s ongoing commitment to providing MEASA’s most enabling platform for fintech firms has involved working with the DFSA on the UAE’s first comprehensive money services regime.

"We are pleased that Mamo, one of our FinTech clients, has been granted approval from the DFSA to operate as an authorised money services firm in the Centre. DIFC will continue to help Mamo and other FinTech firms grow by harnessing opportunities in the region,” he said.

— muzaffarrizvi@khaleejtimes.com