The Ferrari 296 GTS is the first road-going spider with a V6 to have the Ferrari badge. The 3-litre, turbocharged internal combustion engine produces 663 bhp while the plug-in hybrid system another 167 bhp, totaling a staggering 830 bhp 0 to 100 km/h takes just 2.9 seconds, and 0 to 200 km/h in a mere 7.6 seconds. It tops out at a whopping 330 km/h.

Watch the video here for more on the Ferrari 296 GTS.

During an exclusive interview at Seamless, Ali Abulhasan, Co-Founder and CEO of Tap Payments, said the company is in the business of simplifying online payment acceptance in the Middle East and North Africa.

“What we try to do is bridge the markets together since they are very much fragmented when it comes to the region,” Ali said.

“What we focus on is helping businesses grow in emerging markets by unifying the region together and connecting the region to the world with a focus on payments.”

There is more to know about how this unification happens with technology by watching the video here.

An Interview at Seamless with Khalil Alami, CEO of Telr, revealed that payment gateways are the choice for merchants and consumers alike because they connect and enable merchants to accept payments online from their customers and provide a certain level of convenience for customers allowing them to purchase services or goods from beloved brands, websites or mobile apps.

“We provide a certain level of comfort and security while also focusing on enhancing the technology and customer experience for such consumers,” Khalil said.

“So, it’s very important for merchants who want to transact in e-commerce or online to select a proper gateway that provides security, comfort, and great customer experiences and that’s what we try to achieve here at Telr.”

In terms of what separates Telr from the competition, Khalil added: “Various payment gateway players around the world are all good, but what’s different about Telr is that since we  built our own propriety technology (back in 2014), and we were the first to be PCI DSS certified in all the MENA region, which is the highest level of security standards in our industry, we are able to provide a customized experience for merchants.”

Learn more about how Telr excels in this business by watching the video here.

During an Interview at Seamless with Economy Middle East, Jayesh Patel, CEO of Wio Bank, explained that economies were changing drastically today with digital becoming ever so important.

“We differentiate ourselves in two main ways. The first is our operating model, shifting from being a traditional bank to being a platform player,” Jayesh said. By that, he meant that the bank has 3 main core businesses.

“We give out apps to consumers and businesses, we work with digital platforms to build embedded finance solutions, and then with all the tech we build, we work with third-party companies to provide banking as a service,”  Jayesh explained, clarifying how Wio broadens the horizon of what a traditional bank does.

The second differentiator he said was that banking was always about transactions, having an account, and paying bills. “But banks need to do more for our customers.”

Know more about what Jayesh means on this and more by watching the video here.

Asked by Economy Middle East about what the company was showcasing at Seamless, Renier Lemmens, Group CEO of Geidea said that they had two main reveals: One was a new suite of payment products and the other a POS (Point of sale)  system by which retail and F&B businesses can manage the front office, and connect it to the kitchen and inventory.

He said that two things separated Geidea products from others on the market. “The first is the Integration between the payments side of things and the POS or cash register system, and the second is our customer service where we just know we are better than others,” Renier said.

Know more about how these products are shaping up for the future by watching the video here.

Present at Seamless, Economy Middle East conducted an exclusive interview with Charles Matta, Chief Strategy & Partnerships Officer at MyMonty, a technology company.

“We proudly call ourselves fintech enablers, enabling different spectrum of target segments, starting with banks to mobile network operators, moving into fintechs playing the B2C aspect, targeting end users and at the same time fintechs on the B2B side, where we complement each other to offer convenient services to end users,” Charles said.

The company is part of a larger Monty Mobile Group servicing mobile operators for over 25 years.

As to how the company differentiates itself from the market, Charles said that “Differentiating factors are numerous, depending on the line of service, but we do leverage on the latest technologies to differentiate ourselves, starting with Artificial Intelligence and building an integrated AI on all technologies we operate with, whether that service tackles mobile operators or banks, and on the agility of the services, given the technology is built on blockchain to ensure security measures, safe international money transfers at high  speeds, and so on.”

To find out how MyMonty enters into joint commercial collaborations with their clients, and more, watch the video here.

Issam Abousleiman, GCC Country Director at the World Bank, discussed with Economy Middle East, in a recent interview, the issue of non-communicable diseases.

“It’s one of the major killers today in the 6 countries of the GCC. This doesn’t only have a cost on the health treatment but also a big cost on the economic front. The GCC has already done a lot of work on that issue, with some drawing strategies,” Abousleiman said.

He said that these are preventable diseases, and that the sooner we attack them at a younger age, creating the right habits in terms of eating, and sports, then the better chance at reducing their effects.

Abousleiman added that the cost, based on 2019 data for the GCC, was almost more than 5 percent of the GDP, and “This is a big cost in terms of how this is affecting their economies.”

Know more about the steps GCC nations can take to improve on this situation, by watching the video here.

Economy Middle East held an Interview with Mohammad Ali Rashed Lootah, President & CEO of Dubai Chambers, on the occasion of the launch of the Dubai Center for Family Businesses, asking about the key initiatives related to supporting businesses there.

“There are several initiatives that we announced and the first one is the governance series, which will enable companies and family businesses to know more about very important topics from subject matter experts or other family businesses who have done trials locally or internationally,”  said Mohammad Ali Rashed Lootah.

“Topics will range from governance to protecting the wealth of family businesses, the importance of succession planning and the best way to avoid disputes and how best to manage them.”

The second initiative was to work closely with the Mohammed Bin Rashid leadership program to announce such programs in family businesses to make sure we are preparing the first tier of family business leaders who will take over the companies of the future.”

Learn more about the family business center initiatives by watching the interview here.