Open banking platform Tarabut Gateway has partnered with Bahrain-based cryptocurrency exchange Rain to facilitate simpler crypto wallet topping up.
The collaboration will enable users to directly top up their accounts from their bank accounts without leaving Rain’s platform.
The new feature will leverage the platform’s open banking payment services to speed up transactions and minimize errors related to traditional bank wire transfers, Tarabut Gateway noted on Tuesday.
“We are pleased to introduce a solution that intends to make fiat-to-crypto transfers more rapid, secure and cost-efficient — as well as offer such payment methods directly from bank accounts,” said Abdulla Almoayed, founder and chief executive of Tarabut Gateway.
“Our partnership with Rain is an excellent cross-sector synergy, made possible by Bahrain’s advanced open banking ecosystem. Crypto trading, wallets and other blockchain use cases are natural allies in unlocking traditional banking and finance.”
Open banking is a technology adopted by global lenders to modernize the traditional banking model and enhance profitability as they strive to interact with retail customers on a personal level and explore new avenues of growth.
It allows banks to share customer data such as transaction history and spending trends with regulated third-party providers — with the account holder’s consent.
An open banking platform gives customers access to accounts from different banks, credit card companies and other financial services firms, allowing them to quickly and conveniently carry out transfers between them.
Third-party FinTech platforms, like Tarabut Gateway, direct customers to financial services and products based on their particular needs by analyzing their spending patterns.
Established in 2017, Tarabut Gateway holds licenses from several global regulators such as the Central Bank of Bahrain, Abu Dhabi Global Market and Dubai Financial Services Authority. It is also authorized by the Saudi Central Bank to test its services under the Regulatory Sandbox environment.
In 2021, Tarabut Gateway raised $13 million in a seed-funding round led by Berlin venture capital firm Target Global. It was followed by an additional $12 million in a pre-Series A funding round spearheaded by Tiger Global.
Allied Market Research predicts that the global open banking industry’s market size will reach $43.15 billion by 2026, at a CAGR of 24.4 percent.
Rain’s chief executive Joseph Dallago said the partnership with Tarabut Gateway would mark the start of “a new era for crypto assets adoption in the region”.
“Through quick and efficient deposit mechanisms, crypto traders on Rain’s platform will now be able to quickly fund their accounts and capitalize on market movements,” he noted.
Rain was founded in 2017 by Abdullah Almoaiqel, AJ Nelson, Joseph Dallago and Yehia Badawy. In 2019, Rain Management, its subsidiary and digital asset broker and custodian licensed by the Central Bank of Bahrain, began offering users a platform to buy, sell and store cryptocurrency assets.
A 2021 survey by FinTech firm Finastra discovered that over half of financial institutions globally considered open banking a “must have”.
The UAE topped the list, with 68 percent of financial institutions deeming it a “must have”, followed by 58 percent in Hong Kong and 56 percent in Singapore.
Among global financial institutions that have already incorporated open banking into their operations, 97 percent reported that it was beneficial to their business, such as improving customer service or experience, attracting customers — new and existing — and delivering new services, the survey found.
Updated: March 14, 2023, 6:00 AM
