Ziina

Ziina

Fintech platform enabling instant money transfers

Overview

Ziina is a UAE-based financial technology platform that enables fast and secure mobile money transfers for individuals and businesses. Its app lets users send money using debit or credit cards, Apple Pay, and Google Pay, with features like bill splitting, personal payments, and social payments for business transactions, including Instagram and WhatsApp. It differentiates itself by focusing on the Middle East market, offering multiple payment methods, social payments, and low or zero fees for transfers under 25,000 AED, with revenue from select transfer and payment fees. The goal is to democratize access to financial services in the region and make money transfers as easy as sending a text.

YC Company

About Ziina

Simplify's Rating
Why Ziina is rated
C+
Rated B on Competitive Edge
Rated B on Growth Potential
Rated D+ on Differentiation

Industries

Consumer Software

Fintech

Financial Services

Company Size

201-500

Company Stage

Series A

Total Funding

$30.5M

Headquarters

Dubai, United Arab Emirates

Founded

2020

People at Ziina

People at Ziina who can refer or advise you

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Simplify's Take

What believers are saying

  • Violet membership delivers 850+ AED monthly value solving loyalty fatigue for 260k users.
  • Virtuzone partnership embeds instant settlement addressing cash flow for 1.4 million UAE firms.
  • Ziina Card launched enabling instant spending power and exclusive business tool rewards.

What critics are saying

  • Bank-backed fintechs like Mashreq Neo offering zero P2P fees erode Ziina's core consumer value.
  • Regulatory SVF capital hikes by Q4 2026 could force unsecured $5M+ raise straining runway.
  • Jordan's 18% higher compliance costs threaten expansion roadmap given $22M insufficient Series A.

What makes Ziina unique

  • Ziina is the first UAE startup with SVF license enabling instant settlement for SMEs.
  • Combines consumer P2P wallet and business payment gateway in one licensed platform.
  • Offers Apple and Google Pay integration with no FX fees for Violet members.

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Funding

Total Funding

$30.5M

Above

Industry Average

Funded Over

4 Rounds

Notable Investors:
Series A funding typically happens when a startup has a product and some customers, and now needs funding to scale. This money is usually used to grow the team, expand marketing, and improve the product. Venture capital firms are frequently the main investors here.
Series A Funding Comparison
Above Average

Industry standards

$15M
$8.2M
Discord
$15M
Canva
$22M
Ziina
$30M
Kalshi

Growth & Insights and Company News

Headcount

6 month growth

1%

1 year growth

0%

2 year growth

1%
UAE Today
Oct 29th, 2025
Ziina Debuts First Digital Card With Visa To Turn Payments Into Instant Spending Power

Ziina debuts first digital card with Visa to turn payments into instant spending power. Ziina, a leading licensed UAE fintech platform offering both acquiring and issuing, announces the launch of Ziina Card, its first digital card powered by Visa. Available directly within Apple Wallet, Ziina Card transforms a user's Ziina balance into instant spending power, enabling both individuals and businesses to spend money the moment it is received. By partnering with Visa, Ziina ensures global acceptance, robust security, and access to exclusive rewards, reinforcing its mission to make money movement in the UAE faster, simpler, and more contextual. Ziina Card represents a major milestone for the company and its growing user base. Tens of thousands of consumers and businesses had requested the feature, making it the single most anticipated product launch since Ziina's founding. "We've always believed that financial services should adapt to how people actually live and work," said Faisal Toukan, Co-Founder and CEO of Ziina. "Ziina Card is the natural evolution of that vision - your money, always accessible, working the way you need it to." "Visa is delighted to partner with Ziina to bring instant, secure, and globally accepted spending power to users in the UAE. Ziina's Visa card is a great example of how innovation can deliver faster, simpler payment experiences for consumers and businesses alike," said Salima Gutieva, Vice President and UAE Country Manager for Visa. The launch of Ziina Card comes at a pivotal time for the UAE, where both SMEs and consumers increasingly rely on digital payments as the backbone of economic activity. SMEs account for more than 94% of companies in the UAE, contributing over 63% of GDP, yet face persistent cash flow challenges due to delayed client payments. Meanwhile, consumers are demanding seamless, instant, and secure ways to transact in an increasingly cashless economy. In April, Ziina introduced Tap to Pay on iPhone, enabling businesses to accept contactless payments securely without the need for traditional point-of-sale hardware. With Ziina Card, the company now completes the picture - helping users not only accept money instantly but also spend it immediately, creating a fully integrated payment experience. Ziina Card addresses these challenges head-on by creating a unified flow between receiving and spending, something traditional banks have struggled to deliver. By eliminating the "cash-out" middleman, Ziina gives businesses and individuals real-time access to funds with enriched data, improved visibility, and uncompromising security. For SMEs and freelancers, Ziina has long been the fastest way to get paid by clients. With the launch of Ziina Card, the platform now closes the loop on expense management, giving companies immediate access to earnings to pay suppliers, manage purchases, and control spending - all within a single ecosystem. By consolidating payments and expenses under one roof, businesses gain transparency, speed, and cost efficiency without the complexity of juggling multiple providers. Each transaction comes with enriched merchant-level data for easier accounting, while full Central Bank licensing reinforces security and trust. This dual capability - acquiring and expense services in one place - sets Ziina apart as the financial partner of choice for tens of thousands of businesses across the UAE. Through its partnership with Visa, Ziina is extending additional value by unlocking exclusive business rewards, including discounts on essential tools such as Google Workspace, Microsoft 365, Adobe Acrobat Pro, Freshworks, SignEasy, and Zendesk. These benefits equip SMEs with affordable digital infrastructure to scale efficiently in a competitive market. Seamless Spending and Meaningful Context for Modern Spenders For individuals, Ziina Card turns every dirham received on Ziina into instant purchasing power. Instead of waiting to cash out, users can tap to pay with Apple Pay anywhere cards are accepted - whether it's using dinner money from a friend to cover a ride home or splitting group expenses at the end of an evening. Each transaction preserves the social context of the payment - the who, what, and why - while enriched merchant details inside the Ziina app provide greater visibility and control. In this way, Ziina extends the same seamless experience that has made it the go-to way to get paid, now into everyday spending. The launch of Ziina Card builds on Ziina's introduction of Tap to Pay on iPhone and Android earlier this year, which gave businesses across the UAE a modern, hardware-free way to accept contactless payments. Together, Tap to Pay and Ziina Card create a complete ecosystem: the fastest way to get paid, and now the simplest way to spend. As the only licensed startup connecting both sides of the payment journey, Ziina is redefining how money moves in the UAE's digital economy and strengthening its role as the country's homegrown financial partner.

UAE Today
Sep 3rd, 2024
Ziina Secures $22 Million In Series A To Evolve From Payments Platform To An End-To-End Financial Services Provider

Ziina, the UAE's leading financial platform supporting consumers and businesses, today announced that it has raised $22 million in a Series A funding round led by US-based Altos Ventures.

Khaleej Times
Feb 8th, 2022
Ziina launches digital wallet to make sending cash as easy

Ziina launches its digital wallet to make sending cash as easy as sending a text message.

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