Finastra, a startup that touts itself as a leading provider of fully integrated core, lending, payments and digital engagement services, announced Aug 30, 2018, that it has officially joined Bahrain FinTech Bay. The company says the time was ripe for it to come aboard and be a part of Bahrain’s thriving FinTech scene.

Bahrain FinTech Bay is a first-of-its-kind initiative in the Middle East that brings together some of the most important financial services players in the region and beyond to help create new opportunities for businesses and startups actively pursuing financial technology-related products and services.

“Working with Bahrain FinTech Bay will allow us to further collaborate with local FinTechs and banks, as the financial services landscape moves towards an open banking architecture. Our platform for open innovation, FusionFabric.cloud, is well positioned to help the ecosystem in its transition and will play a key role in doing so,” said Wissam Khoury, Managing Director for the Middle East and Africa at Finastra. With this membership, Finastra will now enjoy unrestricted access to international industry events, as well as Bahrain FinTech Bay’s own initiatives in the realms of Blockchain, Regtech, and Insurtech, to name a few. Meanwhile, speaking of having Finastra as one of its newest members, Khalid Saad, CEO of Bahrain FinTech Bay, said: “We are delighted to welcome Finastra, a global FinTech force on board. Becoming a partner of Bahrain FinTech Bay will allow Finastra to increase collaboration with the local financial services ecosystem. With such a varied community, it is crucial for us to have partners that share our vision of bringing all the actors together in one place to inspire innovation.”

Finastra came into existence in 2017 as a product of the merger between Misys and D+H/ The company has an international presence with multiple offices in most of the major economic powerhouses in the world including the U.S., China, Japan, the U.K., Australia, India, and the U.A.E., amongst others.