Airwallex Is Putting $43M Into the UAE
Hey Payment Fanatic!
Airwallex is making a serious push into the UAE, with $43 million planned over the next five years to expand its Dubai operation, hire locally, and build new AI-powered financial products.
The interesting part is that the company still needs final approval from the Central Bank of the UAE before it can launch its regulated payment services. But with the investment already committed and a 2026 launch in sight, Airwallex clearly sees the UAE as more than just another market — especially for businesses trading across borders and currencies.
And it fits nicely with the bigger story around Airwallex: moving from payments and FX into autonomous finance, with AI agents taking on more of the work traditionally handled by finance teams.
On a completely different note, the PayPal Mafia is still very much building — from SpaceX and Tesla to Palantir, Affirm, AI and venture capital, the network’s influence has gone well beyond payments.
Let’s get into today’s Payments stories. 👇 See you tomorrow!
Cheers,
INSIGHTS
💡 PayPal: The PayPal Mafia Is Still Building. More than two decades after PayPal was sold to eBay, its former team continues shaping major technology sectors. From SpaceX, Tesla, Palantir, and Affirm to AI, venture capital, and science policy, the network has expanded far beyond payments — perhaps becoming PayPal’s biggest legacy. You can read full story here
NEWS
🇦🇪 Airwallex commits $43M to enter the UAE payments market, expanding its cross-border infrastructure into the Middle East. The move targets businesses needing multi-currency payment and treasury services in the region. Read more
🇦🇪 Shukria and Mastercard announce strategic collaboration to advance commercial payments in the UAE. The Shukria Commercial Card enables businesses to manage supplier payments, procurement, and expenses with global acceptance.
🇦🇪 Stablecoin neobank Fasset lands a $1 billion valuation, raising $68 million with backing from Japan's SBI. CEO Mohammad Raafi Hossain said revenue has grown six-fold as stablecoin payments and settlement expand.
🇮🇳 Paytm achieves its first profitable full financial year, posting ₹552 crore net profit in FY26 after a ₹663 crore loss the prior year. CEO Vijay Shekhar Sharma said the company will now accelerate investments in AI and financial services.
🇨🇾 Viva.com wins Cyprus state electronic payments contract, ending a four-year procurement process. The deal covers taxes, vehicle renewals, and social insurance, with annual volume expected to exceed €1.5 billion. Viva.com will power the Gov.cy Payment Gateway using card and A2A payments plus POS terminals.
🇸🇬 DBS reports S$10 billion in tokenised payments over two years, signaling deeper investment in digital asset infrastructure. The bank expects tokenised finance spending to match traditional payments and custody budgets within two to three years.
🇪🇸 Rubean AG adds Spanish payment service Bizum to its SoftPOS app, reaching over 30 million active users. Bizum holds roughly 90% of Spain's real-time payment market and is now available across Rubean's merchant terminals.
🇮🇳 CHEQ launches CHEQ UPI, bringing rewards-linked UPI payments for RuPay Credit Card users. The product offers cashback and rewards on every UPI transaction made via RuPay Credit Card, targeting underserved credit card users on India's UPI network.
🌍 WhatsApp may expand payments to more countries, with a new iOS beta section listing the US, Germany, Australia, Canada and others. The feature includes options to save cards, manage billing info, and send money to contacts.
🇪🇺 ECB outlines privacy protections for the digital euro, with offline transactions visible only to payer and payee. Executive Board member Piero Cipollone said the system would offer greater privacy than conventional bank transfers.
🇳🇬 Blockradar hits $1 billion in transaction volume, marking a major milestone for the stablecoin infrastructure provider. The platform now supports hundreds of FinTech businesses across more than 20 countries for cross-border payments and remittances.
🇺🇸 Lucky Hand Capital launches US receivables financing for marketing agencies after facilitating $700MM in funding. The product lets agencies convert approved receivables into working capital to cover campaign costs during extended payment cycles.
🌏 ShardLab invests in StoreHub and launches a joint venture to explore next-generation payments and rewards in Southeast Asia. StoreHub serves 20,000+ merchant locations and processes over 200 million transactions annually.
GOLDEN NUGETT
Brazil 🇧🇷 and India 🇮🇳 are lapping the West in payments. And most people in the US and Europe still barely notice. By dLocal.
Pix (Brazil) 🇧🇷
• Launched Nov 2020 by the Central Bank
• 68.7B transactions in 2024 (+52% YoY)
• 175M+ users, 70% of the population
• ~$5T transacted in 2024
UPI (India) 🇮🇳
• Launched in 2016 by National Payments Corporation Of India (NPCI)
• 228.3B transactions in 2025
• 640M+ transactions per day
• ~49% of all global real-time payments (IMF)
• 75% of India's payment volume runs on UPI
Different countries. Same design choice: interoperability.
Neither is owned by a bank, a tech giant, or a card network. They belong to the regulator, and every institution has to participate. No walled gardens. And that is exactly why they scaled the way they did.
Both were built for everyone, not the tech-savvy urban middle class. Street vendors with handwritten QR codes. Tea sellers in Mumbai. 60 million Brazilians without a credit card, who can now subscribe to streaming via Pix Automático.
Even Paul Krugman called Pix "the future of money" in 2025, saying it delivered what crypto only promised. By 2027, over 70% of all global transactions are expected to be real-time.
The old map, where financial innovation flows from West to East, is outdated.
This time, it's the West taking notes.
Source: dLocal
Full article here
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