Bahrain Telecommunication Company Batelco has established its new licensed firm ‘Batelco Financial Services’, making it the GCC’s first telecom company to receive licenses for Open Banking.
The Central Bank of Bahrain (CBB) has granted the company the necessary licenses to provide both consumers and SMEs with services such as digital wallet creation, cards issuance services, bank accounts aggregation, and bank account payments initiation on behalf of clients and third parties.
Shaikh Abdulla bin Khalifa Al Khalifa Chairman – Batelco
“We are proud that our plans are turning into a reality, and by obtaining the required licenses and establishing Batelco Financial Services, we are achieving a key milestone in our integrated strategy to diversify Batelco’s investments, resulting in positive returns to our shareholders. Batelco Financial Services aims to become a leader in innovation and to be at the forefront in creating a seamless digital value-added experience for consumers and SMEs in financial services in Bahrain and the GCC. We are confident that we have the right team in place that will provide our customers with innovative services and enable us to reach our ambitious goals. The team has partnered with several international players, bringing high reliability and scalability to our proposition.”
Mr. Rasheed Mohammed Al-Maraj, Governor at Central Bank of Bahrain (CBB) said, “We would like to congratulate Batelco on obtaining their Open Banking services license and entering the field of fintech. This step is part of Bahrain’s ongoing growth in sectors that directly benefits customers and is in line with the Central Bank of Bahrain (CBB) strategy to support a local environment that encourages innovation in financial services as per global banking industry trends. We are pleased to witness such cooperation between two vital fields in Bahrain, the financial services sector and the telecommunications sector, which plays a role towards achieving the Kingdom’s Economic Vision 2030.”
The Batelco Financial Services Company is based in Batelco’s Hamala headquarters and includes a team of fintech experts from around the world. The newly formed company will provide a variety of solutions and services to consumers and small businesses, allowing them to have an integrated and smooth banking experience on a single platform.
