Launched in 2022 as a P2P payments app for bill splitting between friends, Ziina has since evolved into a payment gateway for small businesses. The firm now counts 50,000 retail and business customers, notching up a tenfold increase in annual revenue growth and a 34% month-on-month increase in customer growth.The latest financing round brings Ziina’s total venture raised to over $30 million. Ziina intends to use the new cash injection to further its ambitions to become an end-to-end financial services provider. The first step in this direction is allowing businesses to control their expenditures through a soon-to-launch ZiiCard. Currently in development, the ZiiCard will simplify supplier payments and enhance expense management for business users. For individual users, the card will incorporate new features like expense categorization and the ability to split payments for purchases.The firm is the first venture-backed startup to achieve a stored value facility (SVF) license from the Central Bank of the UAE. This allows the fintech to offer more financial products and earn revenue from the float when customers keep assets on the platform. Faisal Toukan, CEO and co-founder of Ziina, says: "Ziina is positioned at the intersection of three key pillars: we see strong customer demand from the underserved SME sector, we’ve obtained the SVF license from the Central Bank of the UAE, and we have secured substantial funding from top-tier investors that we’re excited to be partnering with over the long term. "The intersection of these three pillars means that Ziina is uniquely positioned to lead the next evolution of fintech in the UAE and beyond. This funding will accelerate our journey from a payment platform to an end-to-end financial services provider, enhancing our offerings and expanding our reach across the Middle East.”