Saudi Fintech Moyasar Eyes Expansion after Securing Dual Payment Approvals

Saudi fintech Moyasar is gearing up to expand into the UAE after receiving in-principle approval for two payment licences from the Central Bank, marking an important milestone in its plans to grow beyond its domestic market.

The Riyadh-based payments firm has received preliminary approval for a Retail Payment Services Category II licence and a Stored Value Facilities licence, Moyasar co-founder Basem Aljedai told Arabian Business during an interview at LEAP 2026.

“We treat the UAE as a second home market,” Aljedai said.

The approvals are part of Moyasar’s broader strategy to build a unified financial infrastructure platform for businesses operating across the Gulf, as companies increasingly look to use a single regional payments provider rather than separate systems in each market.

Moyasar has also secured regulatory approvals in other GCC markets, although Aljedai did not disclose which countries were involved or provide a timeline for launching services there.

Funding supports regional growth

The regional expansion is being partly funded by the SAR78.75 million ($21 million) investment round Moyasar raised in 2024, marking its first external funding since the company was founded in 2015.

Saudi food delivery platform Jahez Group led the funding round, with participation from Derayah Financial and Sharaka Capital. Moyasar had relied on its own revenues to fund the business during its first nine years.

Aljedai said the funding has been allocated to regional licensing, development of Moyasar’s payments platform and workforce expansion, with the company’s employee base roughly doubling since the investment.

“In this industry, the constraint is rarely capital,” he said. “It is people who have actually built payment systems at scale.”

The company has not disclosed how much of the $21 million funding has been deployed. Aljedai also declined to confirm whether another fundraising round is planned, saying Moyasar remains well capitalised while continuing discussions with investors.

“When the right capital accelerates the plan, we will move quickly,” he said.

Moyasar strengthens Saudi payments position

Moyasar’s regional expansion comes as Saudi Arabia’s payments sector enters a new phase following years of rapid digital adoption. Electronic payments accounted for 85 per cent of the Kingdom’s retail transactions in 2025, up from 79 per cent a year earlier, according to the Saudi Central Bank.

The number of electronic transactions reached 14.6 billion during 2025, compared with 12.6 billion in 2024.

Moyasar said it now processes more than 30 per cent of Saudi Arabia’s online payments, based on comparisons with data from leading global market intelligence platforms. The company did not disclose the datasets used, and the figure could not be independently verified.

The fintech currently serves more than 16,000 businesses, including government entities, large companies and small and medium-sized enterprises.

Figures provided by the privately held company show that payment volumes have grown by roughly 110 per cent annually over the past three years, while revenue has increased at an annual rate of nearly 190 per cent.