Forbes recently released its list of top Middle East fintech apps for the year, and the list includes some illustrious names from the region’s fintech sector.
Some of the region’s biggest financial institutions have been featured in the list, such as Al Ansari Exchange and Al Mulla Exchange. At the same time, up-and-coming fintech startups that have been grabbing eyeballs in recent times also find themselves in the list of top Middle East fintech apps.
The list is based on money executed through the Middle East fintech apps in 2020, number of downloads and active users, date of establishment, and the app’s financial data.
Top 10 Middle East fintech apps by Forbes
myFawry
Established: 2019
Industry: Payment portal
Country: Egypt
myFawry is a payments app owned by Egyptian fintech giant Fawry. On the app, users can pay bills, recharge mobile services, reserve bus tickets, and track spending. Last year, downloads of the app crossed 1.6 million, and as of June this year, reached 3.5 million downloads.
MyFatoorah
Established: 2016
Industry: P2P payment solutions
Country: Kuwait
MyFatoorah is a Kuwait-founded enterprise payment management solution. The app is available in a number of other GCC countries, including Oman, Saudi Arabia, Qatar, Bahrain, the UAE, and Egypt. The company reported transactions over US$1.7 billion as of July this year, with 160,000 downloads and 40,000 active users.
valU
Established: 2017
Industry: BNPL
Country: Egypt
valU’s buy now pay later (BNPL) service is available at thousands of online and offline locations in Egypt. This EFG Hermes-owned app has been downloaded 655,000 times as of August this year. Last year, it achieved a transaction volume of US$60 million from 196,000 transactions.
MoneyFellows
Established: 2017
Industry: Group lending and savings
Country: Egypt
MoneyFellows digitises Egypt’s traditional money circle known as “gameeya.” The app provides users with group credit and savings solutions based on this savings cooperative system. It has been downloaded over 1.6 million times as of August this year, with over 173,000 active users.
tabby
Established: 2019
Industry: BNPL
Country: UAE
tabby is a BNPL solution that provides interest-free instalments for both online and offline purchases. The company has over 40,000 active shoppers, with 3,000 daily app downloads. tabby was the first of our top funded Middle East fintech apps this year.
CashU
Established: 2002
Industry: E-wallet
Country: UAE
CashU’s digital wallet is enabled for a virtual Mastercard, money transfer, bill payment, online shopping and even crypto trading. The company was acquired from Souq Group in 2015 through a management buyout.
PayTabs
Established: 2017
Industry: B2B payments
Country: Saudi Arabia
The PayTabs app allows online businesses to tap into multiple payment methods, and also provides support such as business manager dashboard and e-invoices. Last year, the app was downloaded over 90,00 times, with US$577.8 million processed in transaction volume.
Zbooni
Established: 2016
Industry: Social commerce
Country: UAE
Zbooni is a social commerce app that allows enterprise customers to sell products over chat apps, and also accept credit and debit card payments. With US$20 million processed in transactions last year, the app had 50,000 downloads and around 40,000 active users in its network.
FinFirst
Established: 2020
Industry: Aggregator and marketplace
Country: Kuwait
The FinFirst app aggregates financial services and products such as loans and insurance for consumers and businesses to shop, compare and apply. The Kuwaiti app recorded 5,000 transactions for US$60 million last year, with downloads touching 50,000.
foloosi
Established: 2019
Industry: C2B marketplace
Country: UAE
The Foloosi apps allows business to accept online payments across multiple methods, and is enabled for consumer to pay for utility bills, parking charges, and mobile recharges as well. It processed US$7 million in transactions last year, and has been downloaded over 45,500 times.
