From Dubai’s FinTech Hive to Abu Dhabi’s ADGM Hub71, the Emirates have built a sandbox‑to‑scale pipeline that is second to none in the Gulf. High smartphone penetration, forward‑leaning regulators, and a cosmopolitan talent pool have allowed dozens of start‑ups to re‑imagine payments, investing, and credit. Below are 11 companies leading that charge, with the metrics and milestones that prove their traction.
What they do: Tabby is the UAE’s largest Buy Now, Pay Later provider, giving shoppers a pay‑in‑four option across e‑commerce sites, physical retail, and its own super‑app marketplace.
Market disruption:
- Normalized installment purchasing at checkout, lifting average order values for 10,000+ merchant partners, including IKEA and Adidas.
- Raised a US $700 million Series E in 2025 at a US $3.3 billion valuation, marking the region’s highest‑valued fintech (Arab News).
- First BNPL firm to secure a Central Bank of the UAE retail‑credit licence, formalising the sector and unlocking new credit products.
What they do: Headquartered in Riyadh but licensed in the UAE, Tamara offers BNPL and pay‑in‑three at online and offline merchants.
Market disruption:
- Processes BNPL for marquee UAE retailers such as Namshi and SHEIN, boosting conversion by double‑digit percentages.
- Has amassed 5 million customers GCC‑wide and raised over US $900 million in equity and debt, including a 2024 US $340 million Series C (Tamara pressroom).
- Expanded into cross‑border remittances and a Tamara card, moving towards a full consumer‑finance stack.
What they do: YAP is a neobank that layers analytics, budgeting, and multi‑currency payments on top of an Emirates NBD‑issued IBAN.
Market disruption:
- Became the Emirates’ first independent digital‑only banking platform, targeting freelancers and Gen‑Z users who want app‑first money management.
- Surpassed 500,000 accounts less than two years after launch and raised US $45 million in a 2024 pre‑Series A to fund regional expansion (Gulf News).
- Added YAP X, an SME account with dynamic sub‑IBANs and payroll tools, filling a gap left by incumbents.
What they do: Mamo provides a peer‑to‑peer payments wallet, merchant pay‑links, and dollar‑linked Mamo Card for everyday spending.
Market disruption:
- Makes instant money transfers as easy as sending a text, eliminating IBAN hassles for residents and expats.
- Licensed by the Central Bank of the UAE in 2023, becoming one of the first home‑grown wallets to move from sandbox to full approval (CBUAE notice).
- Launched Mamo Pay for Business, letting SMEs generate QR or link‑based check‑outs without monthly fees, and crossed AED 1 billion in processed volume in 2024.
What they do: Lean offers open‑banking APIs for account aggregation and payment initiation, powering fintech apps across the GCC.
Market disruption:
- Became one of three providers granted CBUAE open‑banking approval in 2024, setting the data‑sharing standard (The National).
- Enables lenders to underwrite using live bank‑statement data and lets wallets fund instantly via A2A rails.
- Raised a US $33 million Series A led by Sequoia Capital India to scale engineering and compliance in Abu Dhabi.
What they do: Sarwa is a robo‑adviser that offers automated portfolios of global ETFs, crypto baskets, and free stock‑trading for GCC investors.
Market disruption:
- Democratised passive investing with a US $5 minimum, attracting over 150,000 users and US $300 million AUM by 2025 (Sarwa blog).
- Holds both DIFC and ADGM category‑4 licences, reflecting strong regulatory endorsements.
- Added Sarwa Save, a high‑yield cash account backed by money‑market funds, competing with bank deposits.
What they do: Zenda digitises school‑fee payments, letting parents pay upfront, in instalments, or via BNPL while schools receive funds instantly.
Market disruption:
- Tackles a UAE pain‑point where tuition often exceeds AED 35k per child, offering flexible terms without paperwork.
- Partnered with 300+ schools across the GCC and raised US $14 million seed and Series A combined (TechCrunch).
- Introduced Zenda Connect APIs so ERPs can embed education‑specific BNPL at invoice stage.
What they do: Backed by Ant Group, PayBy is a QR‑first wallet supporting retail, transport, and in‑app purchases across the Emirates.
Market disruption:
- Rolled out QR code acceptance to 8,000 Abu Dhabi taxis and hundreds of retail chains, accelerating cashless mobility (The National).
- Supports instant Al Etihad rail ticketing and public‑transport top‑ups, embedding itself in everyday transit.
- Added international remittances to 30+ corridors at fees below traditional exchange houses.
What they do: Noon Payments, the fintech arm of Noon.com, provides a payment gateway and BNPL at checkout for UAE e‑commerce merchants.
Market disruption:
- Built directly into one of MENA’s largest marketplaces, it processed billions of dirhams in 2024 GMV, giving instant scale to its gateway.
- Offers “Buy Now Pay in 12” instalments with zero per‑transaction fees for Noon sellers, undercutting third‑party gateways.
- Licensed by the CBUAE as a retail‑payment services provider in 2023, broadening its merchant‑acquiring reach (WAM).
What they do: Synapse deploys AI-powered credit‑scoring and e‑KYC engines (Konan, Doxter) for UAE lenders, insurers, and BNPL players.
Market disruption:
- Integrates alternative telecom and utility data to score thin‑file borrowers, cutting approval times by 70 % and lowering default odds by 40 % per client pilots.
- Implemented with two tier‑one UAE banks in 2024, processing millions of onboarding and credit events.
What they do: Baraka offers commission‑free trading in US stocks and ETFs for UAE residents, with fractional shares and in‑app market education.
Market disruption:
- Opened access to global equity markets for residents with no minimum balance, attracting 190,000+ users in under three years (Baraka newsroom).
- Received a DFSA retail‑investment licence, ensuring robust investor protection.
- Launched Baraka Rewards, giving cash‑back stock slices at partner retailers, blurring commerce and investing.
UAE fintechs, from Tabby’s record‑breaking BNPL rounds to Lean’s open‑banking rails, are closing the gap between consumer expectations and legacy banking reality. Their cross‑border ambitions, strong regulatory backing, and ample venture funding position the Emirates as both a laboratory and an export hub for financial innovation across the wider region.
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