Tarabut Gateway raises $32m to fund Saudi expansion

Opening banking platform Tarabut Gateway has raised $32m in a Series A funding round led Pinnacle Capital as part of the fintech firm’s broader strategy to empower financial innovation in Saudi Arabia and the entire MENA region.

Tarabut in a statement said that the fundraising had the participation of Aljazira Capital, payments giant  Visa, Tiger Global and other leading existing investors.

“Next-generation digital experiences and innovation are driving the future of financial services, and open banking is a growing movement that can help consumers better access and manage finances,” said Andrew Torre, Regional President of Visa CEMEA.

The company plans to partner with Visa and leverage the global payments firm’s extensive expertise, experience and network in the payment services sector. It prides itself in its diverse investor base, which highlights the company’s regional leadership in open banking, and operational achievements.

We’re thrilled to announce our Series A fundraise: $32 Million!?Thank you to our partners, investors, & team for making this possible.? Together, we aim to empower #financial innovation in #KSA and the wider #MENA region.? Read more here: https://t.co/uaq5ZJWnSd

— Tarabut Gateway (@TarabutGateway) May 4, 2023

Tarabut plans to use the proceeds to expand its footprint in Saudi Arabia, with a focus on attracting top talent and fostering strategic partnerships within the kingdom.

“Tarabut Gateway’s mission is to create an open financial services sector that delivers open banking benefits to MENA’s consumers, banks, and fintech – and the proceeds of this fundraise will help us execute our strategy and contribute to realising Saudi Arabia’s ambitious Vision 2030,” said Abdulla Almoayed, founder and CEO of Tarabut Gateway.

The open-banking startup has assembled an expert team of senior hires to build on the region’s recent open-banking developments. Tarabut Gateway has achieved over 60 per cent market coverage in Saudi Arabia through partnerships with leading banks such as Alinma Bank, Arab National Bank, Saudi National Bank and Riyad Bank.

Similarly, the Saudi Central Bank (SAMA) included Tarabut Gateway in its regulatory sandbox, which is a key component of the open banking framework rollout.

Tarabut’s open banking push

Meanwhile, Tarabut plans to start offering services to streamline lending decisions for banks such as offering credit scoring and automating processes.

The company raised $12m from backers that include Tiger Global and the Dubai International Fintech Fund, the investment vehicle of the emirate’s financial centre, in November 2021.

Tarabut, a fintech startup looking to get access to data from banks to build new services, is the largest regulated open banking platform in the Middle East and North Africa, according to its website.

The fintech firm was granted a licence by the Dubai Financial Services Authority to provide money services in the Dubai International Financial Centre last year. The company also forayed into the region’s crypto market by teaming up with Bahrain’s teamed with Rain to boost fiat-to-crypto transactions.

Open banking is shifting the financial services industry toward hyper-relevant, platform-based distribution while offering banks a window to expand their ecosystems and extend their reach.

SAMA introduced an ‘Open Banking Lab’ last December as part of the Gulf state’s broader strategies to speed up the development of open banking. The ‘Lab’ constitutes a ‘technical testing environment’ to enable established banks and fintech companies the opportunity to ‘develop, test and certify’ open banking services to ensure compatibility with the framework.

The kingdom is implementing a market-driven strategy and its approach is inclined towards a more formal regulatory framework. SAMA issued a roadmap for open banking rollout in 2021 and published an open banking framework last November.

Read: Tarabut Gateway partners with Saudi’s micro-lending firm Tamam