The Central Bank of Bahrain (CBB) has announced that two fintech companies have joined the Bahraini regulatory sandbox. The new members are Tramonex and Now Money, which are located in the United Kingdom and Dubai, respectively.

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Tramonex offers forex fund management services to companies, while Now Money provides account and remittance services for low income employees in the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) region.

Bahrain’s regulatory sandbox was launched in June this year and is currently open to companies that hold CBB licenses and other local and foreign entities. The existence of this fintech-oriented environment serves both companies across the globe, and reaffirms Bahrain’s status as a hub for financial technologies and other services.

Khalid Hamad, the Executive Director of Banking Supervision at CBB, welcomed Tramonex and Now Money, which are joining the fintech regulatory sandbox early on: “We are pleased to welcome the first two entrants into the regulatory sandbox, in the early stages of the framework’s launch. This initiative highlights the CBB’s continuous efforts as the Kingdom’s single regulator to update and develop the fintech ecosystem and enable industry players to create innovative and forward-looking fintech products while maintaining the overall safety and soundness of the financial system.”

Khalid Al Rahmani, the Chief Executive of the Bahrain Economic Development Board (EDB), noted that the new members are proof of Bahrain’s allure: “This announcement is a testament to Bahrain’s attractive investment proposition in the Gulf. Bahrain is a great testbed for innovative products in this space due to its size and easy market access to the GCC.

“The kingdom is ready to be at the forefront of financial innovation and technology as global fintech investment reaches $3.2 billion. In addition to the development of the regulatory sandbox, we have a number of further initiatives we expect to be launched in the coming months including a venture capital fund-of-funds. We are seeing real signs of momentum in the sector and are excited by the potential it will bring.”