Cassbana gets approval to join CBO Fintech Regulatory Sandbox

Cassbana, a regional fintech infrastructure platform focused on expanding responsible access to working capital for micro, small and medium enterprises (MSMEs), has received in-principle approval from the Central Bank of Oman (CBO) to participate in the CBO Fintech Regulatory Sandbox. The nod permits Cassbana to test its data-driven underwriting, embedded financing and risk-management infrastructure under the CBO’s supervision, creating a regulatory pathway as the company prepares to scale across the GCC. The approval follows the platform’s earlier in‑principle acceptance into Egypt’s Financial Regulatory Authority (FRA) sandbox.

Direct quote

“The MSME financing gap across MENA is not simply a shortage of capital. The challenge is building the infrastructure that enables responsible access to finance efficiently and at scale,” said Haitham Nassar, Founder and CEO of Cassbana. “The CBO approval, following our regulatory progress with the FRA in Egypt, is an important milestone in building that infrastructure across multiple markets. Our ambition is to build a scalable regional infrastructure that supports MSME trade and expands responsible access to finance across MENA.”

Context and details

Participation in the CBO Regulatory Sandbox will allow Cassbana to trial its technology, underwriting models, servicing and risk‑management systems within a supervised, controlled environment in Oman. The sandbox framework will enable direct engagement with the Central Bank of Oman and relevant ecosystem participants, giving regulators the visibility to monitor performance and compliance while Cassbana refines operational workflows for local market conditions.

According to Cassbana’s statement, the Oman sandbox is intended to contribute practical learnings that can be adapted across different regulatory environments in the region. The company’s platform centers on data-driven underwriting and embedded financing solutions designed to provide MSMEs with responsible working capital at scale — capabilities that require close coordination with banking regulators when deployed across borders.

• CBO approval: in-principle acceptance to join the Central Bank of Oman Fintech Regulatory Sandbox.
• Scope of testing: data-driven underwriting, embedded financing, servicing and risk-management infrastructure.
• Regional progress: follows earlier in‑principle approval from Egypt’s Financial Regulatory Authority (FRA).

Outlook

With approval to operate inside Oman's regulatory sandbox, Cassbana can validate its underwriting and risk frameworks under direct supervision, producing evidence and operational records that could smooth future market entries across the GCC. Cassbana has signalled that insights from the Omani tests will inform the development of a scalable, adaptable infrastructure aimed at supporting MSME trade and finance across MENA.

Regulated sandbox participation typically shortens the feedback loop between innovators and supervisors, enabling iterative improvements to product design, compliance controls and customer protections. For Cassbana, the dual regulatory engagements in Egypt and Oman establish early regulatory touchpoints that the company can reference when approaching other markets in the Gulf Cooperation Council as it advances its next phase of regional growth.