- UAE-based fintech Fuse raised USD 6.6M in seed funding led by Northzone to simplify cross-border payments across MENA.
- The startup plans to grow its team, expand regionally, and enhance its product offering beyond the UAE market.
- Fuse offers virtual USD accounts and dirham IBANs, targeting global businesses entering MENA without local banking infrastructure.
Fuse
What happened? UAE-based fintech startup Fuse raised USD 6.6 million in seed funding. The round was led by Northzone with participation from Flourish Ventures, After Global, and angel investors such as Flutterwave CEO Olugbenga Agboola.
“The Fuse team is transforming payment infrastructure in one of the world’s fastest-growing markets,” said Sanjot Malhi, partner at Northzone. “Their ability to simplify MENA’s complex cross-border flows is exactly what the region needs.”
What will they do with the funds? The startup aims to expand its team, secure additional regional licenses, and expand its product suite beyond the UAE.
Its main market is the UAE but the platform has begun enabling direct payments in Saudi, Egypt, and Jordan. It also supports wholesale foreign exchange for Indian and Chinese businesses operating in the UAE that need money transfer services.
Payments
Who are they? Founded in 2023 by CEO George Davis and CTO James Smith, Fuse is an infrastructure- grade payments platform offering IBANs in the region. Furthermore, its main product is USD virtual accounts for cross-border money movements and dirham-denominated IBANs for UAE payments.
Why does this matter? The founders saw that this product is widely used in Europe but virtually absent in MENA. This is important because most of their clients are businesses in the U.S., Europe and Asia that want to operate in MENA but lack the banking setup or licences to do so.
This comes amid a time where businesses across MENA are underserved and transacting more than ever driven by a surge in e-commerce and digital payments.
Moreover, Fuse is fully licensed which allows it to simplify money movement across MENA using virtual IBANs and local payout rails.
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