Financial RailsSummit MENA
The people who movethe Gulf's money.
Dubai · 18–19 November 2026
Vostad's ninth finance edition in the series. The first Financial Rails.
02 — Sponsors
Featured past sponsors
Selected organisations that have sponsored Vostad's finance platforms.
03 — The Summit
The systems moving money across the Gulf
Organised by Vostad, Financial Rails Summit MENA brings together the banks, payment institutions, treasury leaders and infrastructure operators building the rails behind cross-border payments, instant payments, open finance and digital settlement.
Nine finance editions. One room focused on what moves money next.
04 — The Market
$58 billion leaves the UAE every year.
$58B
Outbound remittances
40%
Growth in the UAE's licensed payment-institution register
61
Licensed banks
05 — Event in Numbers
Built for the people moving the market.
400
Seats, capped
~220
Institutional decision-makers
370+
Pre-scheduled meetings
06 — Featured Speakers
People who have shaped the conversation.
Previous speakers from Vostad finance-sector events · 2018–2025
Dr. Marwan Alzarouni
Chief Executive Officer
Dubai Blockchain Center
Dr. Ayesha Bin Lootah
Assistant Vice President
VARA
Henk J. Hoogendoorn
Chief, Financial Sector Office
Qatar Financial Centre
Paul Kayrouz
Chief Fintech Officer
Central Bank of the UAE
Ibrahim Almheiri
Chief Executive Officer
Mashreq Al Islami
Giovanni Miano
Chief Technology Officer
Zodia Markets
Daniel Coheur
Co-Founder, Tokeny
Apex Group
Matthew Van Niekerk
CEO
SettleMint
Jeremy Firster
Head of Institutional Adoption
Cardano Foundation
Baha Said
Country Manager, KSA
Temenos
Mohamed Damak
Managing Director, Financial Sector Lead
S&P Global Ratings
Mohammed Wassim Khayata
Founder & Board Member
AE Coin
Ussrah Hussain
Director – Digital, Data & Innovation
HSBC
07 — Who Will You Meet
The people who move it.
01
Heads of Payments & Transaction Banking
From the UAE's 61 licensed banks and their GCC peers.
02
Group Treasurers
The region's flagship corporates.
03
CEOs of Licensed Payment Institutions
30+ PSPs, 60+ exchange houses and stored-value licensees.
04
Infrastructure Fintech Founders
Scaling out of DIFC and ADGM — 1,900+ firms.
05
Scheme & FMI Leadership
The operators of the rails themselves.
06
Payments Technology & Operations
Core platforms, settlement and ISO 20022 migration inside banks and payment institutions.
Qualified delegates attend as our guest.
08 — Agenda
Agenda
01 · Cross-Border & Corridors
Corridors · settlement
02 · Instant & National Rails
Aani · Jaywan · Buna · UPI
03 · The Correspondent Stack
ISO 20022 · Swift
04 · Corporate Treasury
Cash · liquidity · FX
05 · Open Finance & Embedded Rails
A2A · embedded finance
06 · Regulated Digital Money
Stablecoins · tokenised settlement
If it doesn't move money, it isn't on the agenda.
09 — The Experience
Two days built around the conversations that matter.
The Stage
Ideas and perspectives shaping what moves money next.
The Meetings
Relevant conversations with the people you came to meet.
The Networking
The conversations between sessions that become relationships.
The Dinner
Connections that continue beyond the stage.
10 — Attended By
Attended by leaders across finance · 2018–present
Institutional names indicate participation across Vostad events. No endorsement or affiliation is implied.
11 — Testimonials
What the room feels like.
“Focused, relevant and built for the conversations sponsors actually want.”
“A refreshing alternative to the noise of the traditional expo.”
“The right people, the right conversations and the right market.”
“This event has set a very high bar for the quality of the audience.”
“A high-quality audience and conversations that made the sponsorship worthwhile.”
12 — Partner With Us
Be where the market moves.
Financial Rails brings together the banks, payment institutions, treasury leaders and financial infrastructure companies shaping how money moves across the Gulf.
Put your brand in the conversations, relationships and decisions that matter.
Partnerships are limited for 2026.
13 — Media
Seen across the industry.
Media & publications represented · 2018–present
Be in the room.When the rails move.
18–19 November 2026Dubai, UAE