Bahrain Builds Fintech Hub Around Unified Regulation

Jordan has made fintech a pillar of economic modernisation, using digital services to offset limited natural resources and widen access for a young, connected population. Amman anchors the sector, housing the Central Bank of Jordan, major lenders including Arab Bank and much of the startup base. The REACH 2025 digital strategy, internet penetration above 90%, and the Financial Inclusion Strategy for 2023-2028 underpin efforts to serve women, youth, small and medium-sized enterprises and refugee communities.

A Fintech Times review published on April 17, 2026, estimated that Jordan hosts about 200 fintech companies and startups spanning payments, lending, insurtech and digital banking, including MadfooatCom, Liwwa and Dinarak. In 2025, the country recorded more than 184 million digital-payment transactions worth over $38 billion. Real-time systems handled nearly 140 million transfers valued at about $24 billion, while card payments topped 350 million transactions and electronic bill payments exceeded 66 million. JoPACC-operated CliQ and the CBJ regulatory sandbox remain central to expansion.

Brunei is tying fintech development to Wawasan Brunei 2035, its plan to diversify an economy long reliant on hydrocarbons while building skills and innovation. The Brunei Darussalam Central Bank’s Financial Sector Blueprint 2016-2025 laid the regulatory and infrastructure base, with policymakers seeking to raise finance’s share of GDP to 8% by 2035 from 5.6% in 2020. In 2022, Brunei ranked second among ASEAN members in human development and third in digital adoption.

The Fintech Times reported on April 3, 2026, that tarus, Brunei’s first national real-time payment system, had launched in March 2025, enabling instant transfers between financial institutions through identifiers such as mobile numbers. Brunei is estimated to have fewer than 20 fintech companies, concentrated in payments, remittances and infrastructure, while foreign workers — about 23% of the population — support demand for cheaper remittances. BDCB is developing a new financial-sector blueprint in 2026 focused more heavily on Islamic finance and sustainable finance.

Bhutan’s fintech push is shaped less by venture-backed startups than by a state-led digital strategy. The Royal Monetary Authority has made financial inclusion, interoperable payments and controlled experimentation central to its agenda, supported by the Bhutan Financial Switch, real-time payments and wallets including eTeeru and B-Ngul. The effort matters in a mountainous country where access to bank branches remains uneven, cash is widely used and the Gelephu Mindfulness City project is intended to anchor a broader technology-driven economy.

A Fintech Times overview published on April 1, 2026, estimated that Bhutan has fewer than 10 active fintech companies, focused mainly on payments, digital banking and infrastructure. The report valued the country’s Bitcoin reserves at more than $330 million as of March 18. It also highlighted an IMF-supported 2025-2026 review of the RMA’s regulatory sandbox and Bhutan’s Binance Pay tourism system, introduced in 2025, which allows visitors to pay with more than 100 cryptocurrencies.