# HALA

> HALA is a Riyadh-based fintech building the 'bank of the future' for small and medium enterprises across Saudi Arabia and the wider MENA region. Founded in 2018 by Esam AlNahdi and Maher Loubieh, it combines business IBAN accounts, card issuance, POS and soft-POS payment acceptance, expense management and SME financing into a single platform regulated by the Saudi Central Bank (SAMA). HALA serves more than 140,000 businesses, processes over $8 billion in annual transactions, and in September 2025 raised a $157 million Series B - one of the largest fintech Series B rounds in the Middle East - at a reported valuation near $900 million.

- **Founded:** 2018
- **Headquarters:** Riyadh, Saudi Arabia
- **Founders:** Esam AlNahdi (Co-founder & Chairman), Maher Loubieh (Co-founder & CEO)
- **Team size:** ~660 employees
- **Products:** Business Accounts, Cards, POS & Soft POS, Payment Acceptance & Transfers, Expense Management
- **Notable:** Raised $157M Series B in September 2025 - one of the largest fintech Series B rounds in the Middle East., Reported valuation of ~$900 million., Serves 140,000+ businesses and processes $8B+ in annual transactions.

## Products & services

- **Business Accounts** — Digital business IBAN accounts for freelancers, SMEs, corporates and multi-user teams to receive, spend and manage funds with transfers, withdrawals and bill payments.
- **Cards** — Visa and Mada debit cards plus corporate expense cards issued to businesses and their employees for controlled spending.
- **POS & Soft POS** — POS devices and a mobile 'soft POS' Android app that turns a smartphone into a card and digital-wallet acceptance terminal with fast settlement.
- **Payment Acceptance & Transfers** — Local IBAN transfers, wallet-to-wallet transfers, IBAN and wallet deposits, and Sadad bill payments in one flow.
- **Expense Management** — Cloud-based expense tracking, approval workflows, corporate card controls and real-time monitoring for business spend.
- **Financing** — Fast business financing and lending products tailored to the cash-flow needs of SMEs and freelancers.
- **Payroll Management** — Payroll processing integrated with business accounts and cards for paying staff.

## Achievements

- Raised $157M Series B in September 2025 - one of the largest fintech Series B rounds in the Middle East.
- Reported valuation of ~$900 million.
- Serves 140,000+ businesses and processes $8B+ in annual transactions.
- Acquired Saudi POS startup Fresh (2021) and UAE's Paymennt.com (2023).
- Named among Forbes Middle East's Top Fintech Companies (2023).
- Licensed and regulated by the Saudi Central Bank (SAMA).

## Latest updates

- **2025-09** — Closed a $157M Series B co-led by TPG and Sanabil Investments at a reported ~$900M valuation, to expand embedded finance and lending for MSMEs and freelancers and grow regionally.
- **2023-02** — Acquired UAE online-payments startup Paymennt.com to add omnichannel e-commerce payments.
- **2021** — Acquired Saudi POS startup Fresh to strengthen in-store payment acceptance.

## Links

- Website: https://hala.com
- LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/halapayments
- Twitter/X: https://twitter.com/halasaudia
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/hala.payment
- Facebook: https://facebook.com/Hala.Saudiarabia/

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Profile page: https://yespress.io/hala
Published by YesPress — https://yespress.io
Last updated: 2026-07-27