Author: Anita Bosman

Dallas: TECHz – News Desk MoneyGram announced the launch of MGUSD, a native U.S. dollar stablecoin and the foundation for a growing suite of financial services across its global network. As MoneyGram continues to build its payments infrastructure on blockchain, MGUSD will serve as the connective tissue powering those services for families sending money across borders and billions of people underserved by traditional finance. A collection of partnerships makes MGUSD possible. Bridge (a Stripe company) is the regulated, GENIUS Act-ready issuer. MGUSD tokens are minted and burned using M0’s smart contract infrastructure and deployed on the Stellar blockchain at launch.…

Cairo: TECHz – News Desk Egypt has invested more than $6 billion in telecom infrastructure since 2019, according to discussions between Prime Minister Mostafa Madbouli and Minister of Communications and Information Technology Raafat Hindi, who reviewed ongoing digital and telecom sector projects. The investment figure was highlighted as part of a broader update on Egypt’s efforts to strengthen its digital economy through major upgrades in connectivity, mobile networks, and internet services. The minister noted that the multi-billion-dollar spending has been directed toward building stable fixed and mobile internet infrastructure across the country. The telecom development programme includes expansion of fibre-optic…

Manama: TECHz – News Desk stc Bahrain, a digital enabler, announced the launch of its AI-Enabled Autonomous Cyber Defence Centre (CDC), powered by StrikeReady’s advanced AI SOC Platform. As the first of its kind in the MEA region, this transformative centre marks a new era in enterprise cybersecurity, redefining managed security services for businesses in Bahrain and across the region. The stc CDC offers next-generation security services. Moving beyond traditional security monitoring, it provides autonomous detection, investigation, and automated threat response at unprecedented speed, dramatically improving protection and operational efficiency for enterprises. Hesham Mustafa, Chief Business Officer, stc Bahrain: “The…

Abuja: TECHz – News Desk The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) has issued a revised directive to all participants in the country’s payments ecosystem, updating the implementation timeline and technical requirements for Point-of-Sale (PoS) terminal geo-fencing. In the circular addressed to Deposit Money Banks, Microfinance Banks, Mobile Money Operators, switching companies, payment service providers, and other licensed operators, the CBN announced changes to the enforcement framework initially introduced under its earlier directive dated August 25, 2025. The original policy covered ISO 20022 payment messaging migration, mandatory geo-tagging of payment terminals, and related compliance measures. According to the new circular issued…

Lagos: TECHz – News Desk Brass Business Banking has announced that it will be transitioning its operations into Paystack Microfinance Bank (Paystack MFB), marking a new phase in its mission to provide stronger financial infrastructure for African businesses. The company said Brass was originally founded in 2020 to simplify business banking in Nigeria by offering fast account opening, seamless payments, payroll tools, and cash flow management designed for modern SMEs. Over the years, it grew into a widely used platform for founders and small businesses seeking more accessible financial services. In May 2024, Brass entered a new phase after being…

Cairo: TECHz – News Desk Concentrix Egypt has announced plans to significantly expand its operations in the country, aiming to create around 11,000 new jobs and establish five additional service centers across several governorates within the next two years. The expansion is part of the company’s broader strategy to strengthen its presence in Egypt’s business and contact centre services sector. The announcement was made during a meeting attended by Engineer Raafat Hindi, Minister of Communications and Information Technology, alongside senior officials and Concentrix Egypt leadership. Discussions focused on the company’s growth plans in the Egyptian market, investment expansion, and efforts…

San Francisco: TECHz – News Desk Snowflake, the AI Data Cloud company, and Anthropic, the AI safety and research company, announced at Snowflake Summit 26 significant momentum in their strategic partnership. Enterprises are increasingly adopting Anthropic Claude in Snowflake Cortex AI, Snowflake’s suite of AI products, driven by growing demand for governed, production-ready AI. Together, Snowflake and Anthropic are helping enterprises move from AI experimentation to production faster. Building on Snowflake’s and Anthropic’s expanded partnership from December 2025, which integrated Claude models directly into Cortex AI across all major cloud platforms and established a joint go-to-market strategy, Snowflake and Anthropic…

Johannesburg: TECHz – News Desk Standard Bank Group has been ranked the most AI-mature bank in South Africa and the second most AI-mature bank overall in the Middle East and Africa (MEA) in the inaugural Evident AI Index for Banks MEA, published by Evident Insights. The group was also named the most innovative bank in AI across the Middle East and Africa. The Index is the first independent, data-driven benchmark of AI maturity across 25 banks in the region. The survey assesses banks using an “outside-in” methodology that draws entirely on publicly available information, such as disclosures, research outputs and…

Cape Town: TECHz – News Desk New data from South Africa’s leading digital assets app, Luno, shows that tokenised stocks and ETFs are increasingly attracting first-time investors to the US market. The company has reached 50,000 xStocks customers since the launch of the product in August 2025. xStocks are digital representations of popular US shares and exchange-traded funds (ETFs). According to Luno, the top five most popular xStocks purchases by volume are Tesla (TSLAx), Gold ETFs (GLDx), Nvidia (NVDAx), MicroStrategy (MSTRx), and the S&P 500 ETF (SPYx). The investment mix highlights growing interest in technology companies, gold as a macroeconomic…

Dar es Salaam: TECHz – News Desk Airtel Tanzania is continuing to strengthen digital financial inclusion in the country by expanding cashless payment solutions for small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) through its Merchant Pay service. The initiative is aimed at helping businesses operate more efficiently by providing secure, reliable, and convenient digital payment options. As part of the expansion, Kitambaa Cheupe has joined the growing network of merchants accepting Lipa kwa Simu payments through Airtel Money. Customers can now pay for drinks, food, and other services directly from their mobile phones without the need to carry cash, making transactions faster…