The winners of the MEA Finance Banking Technology Awards 2026, held in the Jumeriah Emirates Towers Hotel, were presented on the 24th of June in a ceremony attended by almost 300 senior executives and their valued guests from the region’s banking services and financial technology providers.
These prestigious annual awards mark another year of innovative achievements and industry building developments led by businesses and leaders across the banking, finance, fintech and financial technology sectors.
Organised and hosted by MEA Finance Magazine, and widely considered as the annual high point of recognition for banking technology excellence across the region, the awards underscore the innovations and stand-out performance of institutions in the banking, fintech and financial technology space in our increasingly competitive market.
With nominations for the awards continuing to exceed those of all previous years – a particular achievement in the wake of the challenges facing the region earlier in this year, they emphasised the rapid pace of growth and competition in the regional financial technology market. As always evaluation of the awards was arduous, given the increasing expertise and quality work in our market with the judging panel exerting focused consideration and scrutiny of the nominees’ entries.
Here follows the full list of the MEA Finance Banking Technology Awards 2026winners:
- Best Islamic Fintech Solutions Provider – DDCAP Group
- Digital Banking Provider of the Year – Avaloq
- Best Core Banking Solutions Provider – Avaloq
- Best Data Management Solution Provider – Huawei
- Best Risk Management Solutions Provider – The winner is 4most
- Best Retail Payment Provider – Instant Cash
- Best AML/KYC Solution Provider – Signzy
- Best Open Banking & API Solutions Provider – Infosys Finacle
- Most Innovative Payment Solutions Provider -ACI Worldwide
- Best Payments Innovation Award – Network International
- Best Wealth and Investment Technology Provider – Profile Software
- Best Corporate Taxation Technology Initiative in the UAE -Naqood
- Best AI Provider to Banks and Financial Institutions – Thumba.AI
- Best Managed Services and Enterprise Consolidation Provider – SR Intelligent Technologies Consultancy
- Best Regulatory Compliance AI Provider -MOZN
- Best Regulation Technology Solution Provider – 4most Reporting Centre for their Central Bank of UAE BRF Automation
- Best Composable Banking Solutions Provider of the Year – Finshape
- Best Testing, Consulting & Managed Services Provider – Testhouse
- Digital Banking Innovation of the Year – Mbank
- Best Digital Innovation – Abu Dhabi Islamic Bank
- Best Digital Modernisation and Restructuring Award – United Arab Bank
- Best Neobank – Liv by Emirates NBD
- Best Cybersecurity and Risk Management Implementation – National Bank of Fujairah
- Best Core Banking Technology Implementation – Emirates Investment Bank & Infosys Finacle
- Best Data Management – Emirates NBD & Huawei
- Best Analytics System – Mashreq
- Best Mobile Banking Services – First Abu Dhabi Bank
- Most Innovative Emerging Technology Implementation – Mashreq & GBM
- Outstanding Emerging Technology Initiative – RAKBANK
- Best Cloud Implementation – National Bank of Fujairah
- Best Hybrid Cloud Implementation – United Arab Bank & GBM
- Best Innovation in User Experience – First Abu Dhabi Bank
- Best AI-Driven User Experience Innovation – Mashreq
- Best Core Banking Infrastructure Implementation – National Bank of Fujairah & GBM
- Best Financial Services Digital Platform – Mashreq
- Best Innovation in Retail Banking – Emirates NBD
- Best Innovation in Retail Banking, Qatar – Qatar International Islamic Bank
- Best Innovation in Corporate Banking and Finance – Mashreq & GBM
- Best Innovation in Investment Banking – CBIx, Commercial Bank International’s Innovation Lab and Ventures Company
- Best Innovation in Trade Finance – Mashreq
- Best Regulation Technology Solution – Mashreq
- Trade Finance Technology Excellence Award – Mashreq
- Best AML/KYC Integration – Liv by Emirates NBD
- Best Islamic Fintech Solutions Implementation – GFH Bank
- Best AI Technology Implementation – First Abu Dhabi Bank
- Best Financial Analytics System – RAKBANK & GBM
- Best Open Banking & API Implementation – Zand & Infosys Finacle
- Best Open Banking & API Initiative – Abu Dhabi Islamic Bank
- Best Branch Digitisation Implementation – Ajman Bank
- Best Corporate Payment Service – First Abu Dhabi Bank
- Best Risk & Compliance Implementation – Kuwait Finance House (KFH)
- Best AML/KYC Solution Implementation – Mashreq
- Best Retail Payment Implementation – Emirates NBD
- Best Treasury Management Implementation – First Abu Dhabi Bank
- Best Overall AI Strategy – Mashreq
- Best AI Use in Regulatory Compliance – Mashreq
- Best Use of AI for Fraud Prevention and Detection – Mashreq
- Best Testing, Consulting & Managed Services Implementation – Commercial Bank of Dubai & QualityKiosk Technologies
- Best Financial Sector Portal in the Middle East – Instant Cash Digital Services Portal
- Most Innovative Payment Solutions Implementation – Gulf International Bank – GIB
- Best Corporate Payments Solution – Mashreq
- Best Regional Digital Payment Contributions – Mastercard Merchant Cloud
- Excellence in Global Payments Innovation – Swift
- Best Accounting and Tax Solutions for SMEs – Virtuzone
- Banking Transformation Executive of the Year – Abdulla AlTaee, Chief Operating Officer, United Arab Bank
- Technology Leadership Award – Shoaib Rizvi, Group Head of Digital Products Technology, Emirates NBD
- Financial Services Technology Executive Award – Sasi Nair, Head of Information Technology, Commercial Bank of Dubai
- Leadership Excellence in AI Transformation – Arun Mehta, Head of Data Analytics and Artificial Intelligence, First Abu Dhabi Bank
- Technology Excellence Award in Financial Services – Ali Rey, Group Head of Technology Platforms, Emirates NBD
- Chief Digital and Information Officer of the Year – Miguel Rio-Tinto, Group Chief Digital and Information Officer, Emirates NBD
- Digital Transformation Leader of the Year – Mohamed Abdel Hamid Abdel-Razek, Group Chief Information Officer & Head of Transformation, Mashreq
