Lulu Exchange Holdings, the leading financial services company, has announced that it will invest $3.5 million in tech start-up ARKIN Technologies Limited. Through the collaboration, Lulu Exchange Holdings plans to offer a holistic suite of financial products and services, constituting a digital revolution in the financial services space.

Lulu Exchange Holdings plans to take ARKIN’s expertise to offer everything, from cloud banking to real-time remittances, bills payments, Prepaid MasterCard and VISA, tap payments, prepaid products, API banking, and even chat applications, to various markets in the region and worldwide. ARKIN’s platform is also armed with two-factor authentication and one of the highest encryptions in the world.

“We are excited to announce this partnership with ARKIN Technologies Limited. We do not want to be seen as just investors putting in the capital but as partners, with promising start-ups such as ARKIN sharing our expertise and leveraging on mutual strengths to offer customers simple and smart digital financial solutions,” Adeeb Ahamed, Managing Director, Lulu Exchange Holdings, said.

ARKIN is headed by its CEO Ralph Santos, who is one of the pioneers in the FinTech industry, with experience in the field even before the word “FinTech” entered corporate vernacular. Through his vast experience in key positions across multiple industries, Santos has founded ground-breaking and innovative start-ups that have successfully redefined the digital landscape and provided a platform for greater financial inclusion.

“This is an exciting collaboration for us and we are proud to partner with Lulu Exchange Holdings. With its focus on investments offering mutual strategic value, wide reach, and unique solutions, Lulu Exchange Holdings is the right match for ARKIN and is a natural next step toward engaging and supporting the wider financial ecosystem,” Santos said.

“The digital revolution is rapidly transforming the financial services world and we want to be actively involved in developing new technologies and be at the centre stage of innovation. We were looking at being based out of the APAC region; but with Abu Dhabi fast emerging as the next FinTech hub, we decided to base our headquarters out of the Abu Dhabi Global Market,” Santos added.

Abu Dhabi Global Market (ADGM) recently announced the establishment of FinTech Innovation Centre and FinTech Association, which will support greater financial innovation, cultivate FinTech talent, foster closer industry collaboration, and facilitate more cross-border investment opportunities to bolster the development of financial services.

“Lulu Exchange is honoured to work hand-in-hand with ADGM to raise the profile of the FinTech community in Abu Dhabi. Within a short period of time, ADGM, under the able leadership of its Chairman Ahmed Ali Al Sayegh and CEO of registration authority Dhaher bin Dhaher Almheiri, has transformed itself into a hub of innovation and technology, along with attracting start-ups and talent from around the world,” Ahamed said.

With plans to move nearly 30 per cent of its transactions onto the digital platform by 2020, Lulu Exchange is committed to remain on the digital fast track. Through this new partnership, the Abu Dhabi-based companies are on track for rapid growth, with planned go-lives in the UAE, the Philippines, Hong Kong, and Malaysia already pencilled in.