Karachi, June 23, 2020: Transfast, a leading cross-border payments service provider with presence in over 140 countries, has partnered with Habib Bank Limited (HBL), the largest commercial bank with over 1700 branches in Pakistan, to facilitate expatriates around the globe to send money to Pakistan. The remittance facility between Transfast and HBL is now available to the Pakistani expatriates globally. This …

Retailers like Target, Home Depot, Wayfair, IKEA, and others have embraced augmented reality to help shoppers make decisions about products they’re interested in by visualizing the items in their own homes. Today, Etsy is hopping on the AR bandwagon as well, with the launch of an updated iOS app that uses augmented reality features to help consumers shopping for wall …

Twitter is rolling out to its platform a new type of tweet — audio tweets — allowing users to share thoughts in audio form inside their feeds. The feature will only be available to some iOS users for now, though the company says all iOS users should have access “in the coming weeks.” No word on an Android or web …

New York-based fintech startup Wahed (meaning “One” in Arabic) describes itself as a digital Islamic investment platform and as the world’s first “halal robo adviser.”

A new Twitter test feature aiming to “promote informed discussion” will nudge users to read before they retweet. The company describes the test as a step to help people be more aware of what they’re sharing in a broader effort to inspire “healthier conversations” on the platform. Sharing an article can spark conversation, so you may want to read it …

SpaceX on Saturday launched two NASA astronauts aboard its Crew Dragon spacecraft, and the accomplishment is a tremendous one for both the company and the U.S. space agency. At a fundamental level, it means that the U.S. will have continued access to the International Space Station, without having to rely on continuing to buy tickets aboard a Russian Soyuz spacecraft …

CaterpillHERs, a Pakistan-based social enterprise empowering women-led businesses in the country, recently won the ANDE’s Advancing Women’s Empowerment Fund (AWEF). The fund will distribute up to $1.2 million in grant capital across eight winning proposals out of a pool of more than 180 total applications.

More evidence that Gen Z is switching to chat platforms for just about everything, including banking, emerges today in the news that Zelf, a fintech startup offering neobank-style services, is generating buzz amongst Gen-Zers in Spain and France. Its ability for users to interact solely via messaging has seen the startup hit over 260,000 card pre-orders since its launch in …

Online retailers are seeing Black Friday-like sales due to the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on their business. According to new data from Adobe’s Digital Economy Index, U.S. e-commerce jumped 49% in April, compared to the baseline period in early March before shelter-in-place restrictions went into effect. Online grocery helped drive the increase in sales, with a 110% boost in …

Zoom was never meant to be a social network, but the enterprise video chat app has become essential software for those looking to stay in touch with friends and family during the pandemic.

Scener provides a cross intersection of entertainment and technology with cowatching Netflix and HBO for upto 20 people in a virtual theatre.

Facebook to acquire Giphy in $400 million

Uber is rolling out a series of changes to its ride-hailing and on-demand food delivery apps, beginning Monday, as cities and states lift stay-at-home orders prompted by the COVID-19 pandemic. The changes, which includes an online checklist for all users, limits on the number of passengers in vehicles and a face mask verification feature for drivers, aims to stop the …

Twitter announced that it will begin to add warning messages and labels to tweets spreading disputed or misleading information about COVID-19. The labels will direct users reading these tweets to a Twitter-curated page or to external resources that offer additional information and context about the claims being made in the tweet. The warnings, meanwhile, will cover the tweet — requiring …

Peanut, an app that began as a tool for finding new mom friends, has raised $12M in Series A

The artificial intelligence research organization, OpenAI, made headlines this week announcing the release of Jukebox, a neural network capable of creating original music and even “rudimentary singing” (or at least something akin to singing). This specific program generates original tunes in a vast range of genres and even emulates the styles of popular artists. This metadata accounts for genre, artist, …

While global stay-at-home orders have been a blow to most companies, they’ve also created opportunities for businesses helping to keep people entertained. So if you’re a YouTube creator hoping to capture some additional eyeballs while everyone’s stuck at home, online video agency Butter Works has released an interactive report outlining the most promising topics for you to focus on. CEO …

Tesla CEO Elon Musk tweeted Friday that the company’s stock price was “too high” in his opinion, immediately sending shares into a free-fall and in possible violation of an agreement reached with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission last year. Tesla shares fell nearly 12% in the half hour following his stock price tweets — just one of many sent …

Mastercard Payment Solution with Askari Bank Pakistan Mastercard has signed an agreement with Askari Bank Pakistan for a multifaceted partnership to enhance customer experience and launch new products for a growing number of the Bank’s customers. The agreement is part of Mastercard and the Bank’s commitment to bring innovative payment solutions to more people across the Middle East and Africa …

Careem, the internet platform of the greater middle east and Pakistan, and JS Bank recently announced that thousands of Careem captains who have leased a car through JS Bank will now have the facility of getting the principal amount on their loan deferred for up to twelve (12) months in light of the ongoing COVID-19 situation in Pakistan. This facility,in …