Dubai-based fintech company Ziina has raised $22 million in a Series A funding round, led by US-based Altos Ventures. The round saw participation from Avenir Growth, Activant Capital, Y Combinator, FJ Labs, MEVP, and Jabbar Internet Group, bringing Ziina’s total capital raised to over $30 million.
Founded in 2020 by Faisal Toukan, Sarah Toukan, and Andrew Gold, Ziina initially launched as a peer-to-peer payments app for consumers. Since then, it has diversified its offerings to include a range of financial solutions tailored for businesses, particularly small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs). The company’s business-focused payment solutions encompass payment links, a payment gateway with Shopify and WooCommerce integrations, and point-of-sale (POS) and QR codes for in-store payments.
Ziina charges businesses 2.9% plus AED 1 (27 cents) per payment gateway transaction and 2.6% plus AED 1 (27 cents) for other payment methods, according to its website. Over the past year, Ziina has reported a tenfold increase in its annual revenue and a 34% month-over-month growth in its customer base. CEO Faisal Toukan revealed to TechCrunch that the company is now processing an annualised payment volume of over $300 million across both business and personal segments, up from $150 million last year.
The fintech company plans to enhance its product offerings with the launch of the ZiiCard, a new feature aimed at simplifying outbound payments for both businesses and individual users. “For businesses, the ZiiCard will streamline supplier payments and improve expense management. For individuals, features like expense categorisation and payment splitting will increase both security and convenience,” Ziina stated. The ZiiCard is currently under development and is expected to launch soon.
Faisal Toukan, co-founder and CEO of Ziina, commented: “Ziina stands at the intersection of three crucial pillars: a strong demand from the underserved SME sector, the securing of the Stored Value Facility (SVF) licence from the Central Bank of the UAE, and substantial backing from top-tier investors. These elements uniquely position us to lead the next phase of fintech evolution in the UAE and beyond.”
Toukan added that the recent funding would accelerate Ziina’s transformation from a payments platform into a comprehensive financial services provider, expanding its reach throughout the Middle East.
Dillon Krasnigor, Partner at Altos Ventures, expressed enthusiasm for the partnership, stating: “We’re impressed by Ziina’s ability to secure the SVF licence from the UAE government, its consistent growth, and its innovative product suite. We believe Ziina is well-positioned to become a major financial services provider in the Middle East.”
With the newly acquired funds, Ziina aims to expand its offerings within the United Arab Emirates and explore potential market entry into other regional countries, including Saudi Arabia and Jordan.