Israeli fintech Firm Rapyd Opens Office in Dubai

Rapyd, an Israeli fintech company, announced that it has opened a new office at ICD Brookfield Place, a business center in Dubai, and plans to hire 120 employees for its R&D, product, operations and human resources departments over the next 18 months. Rapyd will provide payment solutions for local merchants, simplifying the process of receiving and paying in the region.

Rapyd has been registered at Dubai International Financial Centre (DIFC). The local regulator Dubai Financial Services Authority (DFSA) has granted Rapyd an In-Principle Approval (IPA) under its money services regime. The fintech firm expects to be fully authorised to conduct financial services once it fulfils the DFSA's In-Principle requirements.

Arik Shiltman, CEO of Rapyd, said: "The only country that allowed people to come in and out during the pandemic from different jurisdictions and meet was Dubai. We started to have a lot of meetings with our American investors and APAC experts in Dubai, which opened up our understanding that Dubai had fortified its position as a business hub." Said Arik Shiltman, Co-Founder & CEO of Rapyd.

"With a lot of tech talent relocating here, we also saw many businesses moving here from Singapore and Hong Kong as the rules here were more flexible. Basically, we understood that post-pandemic Dubai would emerge as a significant business and tech hub, and we decided as a strategic decision we want to have a significant presence that will allow us to recruit people faster and better because in other jurisdictions where we operate there is a lot of competition in the recruitment of tech, so we decided to do it here." He Added.

Shiltman further revealed that as the business expands in other parts of the Middle East, the company has two plans - to establish the Dubai office as a technology center, and to recruit engineers as well as product personnel to support its fast-growing business.