In 2024, the fintech industry in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) witnessed remarkable growth, driven by an increase in cashless transactions, a surge in digital banking adoption, and a series of government initiatives.
These included the introduction of open finance and stablecoin regulations, as well as a new regulatory sandbox, designed to lower market barriers, foster competition and accelerate innovation in the financial services industry.
Looking ahead to the year 2025, the UAE’s fintech sector is set to continue its impressive expansion, with key areas such as payments, corporate financial services, and wealth and investment technology, particularly well-positioned to benefit from these trends.
In this context, we look today at five UAE-headquartered fintech startups that are poised for significant growth in 2025. These companies achieved notable milestones in 2024, including securing support from prominent investors, entering new markets, and gaining considerable traction. This list serves as a complement to our UAE Fintech Report 2024, which spotlights several venture-backed startups to watch closely this year.
5 Fintech Startups from the UAE to Watch in 2025
CredibleX
Founded in Abu Dhabi in 2023, CredibleX powers businesses to provide their small and medium-sized enterprise (SME) customers and suppliers with instant access to lending solutions. The startup offers a pioneering embedded finance platform, created to improve access to financing.
The platform seamlessly integrates with the daily operations of SMEs to offer tailored financial solutions to their unique needs. It leverages proprietary technology to instantly assess credit risk and pre-approve a variety of lending options. This shortens the traditional approval process, which often takes weeks or months, to just minutes. Funds are then disbursed directly to SME accounts within 24 hours, facilitated by secure embedded technology that ensures a smooth and convenient user experience.
CredibleX has recorded remarkable growth, having already disbursed US$27.2 million in loans, according to Fintech Futures.
This success has also captured the attention of prominent investors. In December 2024, CredibleX closed a US$55 million seed funding round. The funding, which includes a mix of equity and debt, was backed by prominent investors, including Further Ventures, Kilgour Williams Capital, and Berkley Square Finance, Waya.Media reported.
CredibleX plans to use the proceeds to accelerate its growth strategies and expand its services to reach a broader base of SMEs in the UAE. As the startup scales its operations, it’s poised to make an even greater impact in 2025.
Jingle Pay
Founded in 2019, Jingle Pay is a financial super-app. The company provides innovative services including multi-currency accounts, instant money transfers via the world’s first remittance marketplace, card payments, and last-mile payouts across 150+ corridors. Additionally, its “remittance-as-a-service” solution enables banks, fintech startups, and non-financial institutions to facilitate seamless international money transfers.
Jingle Pay’s mission is to democratize banking and payments. By offering affordable, inclusive, and AI-driven financial services, the company delivers a tailored digital experience that meets the diverse needs of its customers.
In 2024, Jingle Pay processed over 2 million transactions and facilitated more than US$1 billion in international transfers, making it a prominent players in the domestic fintech ecosystem.
This success has attracted significant investor interest. In January 2025, Bank Alfalah, a leading commercial bank in Pakistan with a network of over 1,000 branches, acquired a 9.9% equity stake in the startup, Wamda reported. This strategic partnership will allow Jingle Pay to leverage the bank’s infrastructure for growth in Pakistan where the startup plans to launch branchless digital banking services in Q1 2025. These developments and milestones make Jingle Pay a fintech startup to watch in 2025.
Zand Bank
Established in July 2022 and licensed by the Central Bank of the UAE, Zand Bank is a digital bank that leverages cutting-edge technologies, including artificial intelligence (AI) and blockchain, to deliver innovative financial solutions to corporate, institutional, fintech, and wealth management clients.
Zand Bank aims to revolutionize the banking landscape by bridging traditional finance (TradFi) with decentralized finance (DeFi), enabling clients to securely manage both fiat and digital assets.
In recent months, the bank has made several announcements that underscore its commitment to innovation. In January 2025, it announced a strategic collaboration with Klickl International, a UAE-based Web3 open finance platform, to integrate its digital banking capabilities.
The collaboration came on the heels of partnerships with the likes of Infosys Finacle and Taurus, and its milestone achievement of becoming the first UAE bank to offer digital asset custody services, following approval from the Dubai Virtual Asset Regulatory Authority (VARA).
Additionally, Zand Bank is preparing to launch a UAE dirham-backed stablecoin, setting the stage of further innovation and growth in 2025.
Stake
Launched in 2021, Stake is a Dubai-based digital platform that aims to redefined the way investors engage with real estate. The platform allows individuals to participate in fractional ownership of properties, lowering the entry barrier to as low as AED 500 (US$136). Through Stake, users can now invest in a diverse range of real estate assets, both residential and commercial, without the need for large capital investments, making it easier than ever to diversify their investment portfolios.
To date, Stake has facilitated the sale of over 200 properties worth AED 355 million (US$97 million) through its app. The platform has built a global community of over 800,000 users with more than 50% of its investors based outside of the UAE. This reflects the platform’s international appeal and its role in transforming the financial and real estate landscapes across the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region. In May 2024, Stake surpassed 100,000 transactions, further highlighting its rapid success and growth.
In 2024, Stake reached a number of milestones. In December, the startup launched in Saudi Arabia in partnership with Al Rajhi Seventh (RJ7), a local property developer, becoming the first platform regulated by Saudi Arabia’s Capital Market Authority to offer global investors the opportunity to invest in Saudi real estate.
The launch in Saudi Arabia followed a successful US$14 million funding round in June 2024 to expand overseas and further solidify its presence in the MENA region.
These recent strides make Stake one of the standout fintech startups in the UAE to watch in 2025.
Telr
Established in 2014, Telr is a UAE-based award-winning payment gateway solutions provider. The company offers a unique platform for handling payments in over 120 currencies and 30 languages in UAE, Saudi Arabia, Bahrain, and Jordan. Through a single integration, Telr grants access to every payment method it offers, including Visa, Mastercard, American Express, UnionPay, JCB, Apple Pay, PayPal, Samsung Pay, SADAD, Mada, STC Pay, urpay, serving over 30,000 merchants.
In addition to payment processing, Telr also offers a range of financial and business solutions designed to support e-commerce businesses. These include social commerce, QR codes, digital invoicing, buy now, pay later (BNPL).
Over the past year, Telr has significantly expanded its presence and strengthen its partnerships. In December 2024, the company announced a collaboration with Worldline, a global leader in payment services. This partnership focuses on launching a comprehensive e-commerce payment solution in the UAE.
In January 2025, Telr teamed up with Apaya, a leading commerce automation platform in the Middle East and Africa. This partnership combines Telr’s comprehensive payment solutions with Apaya’s no-code commerce automation platform, enabling merchants to build and scale world-class payment experiences with just a few clicks.
Telr’s strategic partnerships with global and regional leaders further solidify its position as a fintech company to watch in 2025, poised for continued growth in the Middle East and beyond.
Featured image credit: edited from freepik
