Riyadh FinTech platform Tweeq, which allows users to make payments through its app, has raised additional capital to expand its operations in Saudi Arabia and the wider Mena region.
The latest funding round, which will also help the start-up to develop its product, was led by Saudi venture capital company STV and Raed Ventures, Tweeq said on Monday.
It did not disclose the amount raised but said it was a seven-figure investment.
"Tweeq is aiming to provide ... a better modern alternative to the traditional banking account,” said Saeed Albuhairi, co-founder and chief executive of the FinTech platform.
“We are working hard to obtain the necessary licences and approvals to conduct our business under the Saudi Central Bank’s supervision to achieve the kingdom’s ambition of developing a diversified and effective financial sector.”
Demand for digital payments and other FinTech services has surged worldwide as more people use online banking services and other platforms to transfer money and pay for purchases amid the coronavirus pandemic.
Founded last year by a team of seasoned banking and technology professionals, Tweeq’s mobile app allows users to open a spending account and start receiving and making payments, as well as set monthly budgets and long-term financial goals.
Users can also monitor and manage personal spending across different categories.
“As financial regulators open the doors to challengers and innovators, the region is destined to witness the same shift that swept the financial sectors in the US, Europe, China and India,” said STV partner Ahmad AlNaimi.
“We believe that Mena will witness an even bigger shift, fuelled by a younger population and increasingly progressive regulators.”
Customers in Saudi Arabia are increasingly choosing FinTech solutions over those offered by traditional financial institutions due to unsatisfactory digital services, the company said, quoting a study by the Boston Consulting Group.
Nine in 10 Saudi citizens are willing to open an account with a FinTech start-up that does not have any physical branches, the report said.
Meanwhile, a McKinsey report revealed that more than 80 per cent of urban consumers in the kingdom prefer to deal with financial institutions digitally.
Investors are also piling into the FinTech space in the region as adoption of contactless payments and other digital solutions hastens.
Earlier this month, Dubai peer-to-peer payment start-up Ziina raised $7.5 million through an early stage funding round. The company said it will use the funds to set up its wallet service and expand into Saudi Arabia.
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THE BIO: Martin Van Almsick
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