Five financial technology (FinTech) start-ups have become the first to graduate from a Sandbox testing platform. The Sandbox programme is run by Emirates NDB, in collaboration with the largest financial technology accelerator in the Middle East, Africa and South Asia, the DIFC FinTech Hive.
The two financial institutions have been working together to help startups integrate their technologies with an API (application programming interface) sandbox set up by Emirates NDB. These APIs allow developers to access over 200 of Emirates NDB’s APIs and 500 other endpoints covering retail, corporate and SME customers, along with over five million simulated customer transactions.
Below is a list of the five startups that graduated:
- Monimove, a digital trade finance firm
- Norbloc, a shared KYC (know your customer) system using blockchain
- Gamechanger, a keyboard banking system
- Bankbuddy, a chatbot for the finance industry
- Leap FinTech, a digital onboarding programme for SMEs
Abdulla Qassem, group chief operating officer for Emirates NBD said, "We are confident that this initiative will pave the path for many more collaborations in the future between banks and FinTechs in the region, helping tackle various challenges while delivering a smarter and more secure customer experience in the process.”
The API Sandbox, Launched by Emirates NBD Future Lab in 2018, is a first in the region, marking a significant landmark in the bank’s AED1 billion digital transformation programme.
Evans Munyuki, chief digital officer, Emirates NBD, said: "Emirates NBD is playing an active role in accelerating innovative collaboration in the UAE and the wider region. Initiatives such as the API Sandbox, offer a secure and safe environment for FinTechs and internal bank developers to innovate, collaborate, prototype, and accelerate speed to market using meaningful API calls and synthetic data samples. This even paves the way for inclusion of government partnerships with banks and FinTechs. We are pleased to support leading accelerators such as the DIFC FinTech Hive, while connecting with startups and technology providers to find new ways to solve old and new problems as we build banking solutions for the future."