The Dubai neobank that runs like a bank - without holding a banking licence of its own.
In March 2021, a Dubai startup put a question to a region where millions still bank in cash: why does opening a bank account still require a branch, a queue and a stack of paper? YAP's answer was disarmingly small - your phone number and your face. Within a couple of years, more than 150,000 people had agreed with it.
YAP is a digital banking platform - a neobank - that lets people open an account, get an instant IBAN and a Mastercard, send and receive money, pay bills and track their spending, all from a single mobile app. It launched as the UAE's first independent digital banking platform, and its pitch is deliberately plain: no minimum balance, no hidden fees, no branch.
The interesting part is what YAP is not. In the UAE it does not hold its own banking licence. Instead it partners with licensed banks - RAKBANK at launch - that issue the IBANs and hold customer deposits under their own licence. YAP builds everything the customer actually touches: the onboarding, the analytics, the card controls, the notifications.
That structure is not a shortcut so much as a strategy. It let a small team ship a working bank in months rather than years, and it let YAP focus on the part of banking that people actually complain about - the experience - while a regulated partner handles the vault.
The company was founded by Marwan Hachem, who serves as Founder and Group CEO, alongside co-founder Anas Zaidan. From a base of around 50 people, YAP has set out to become a leading digital bank across the Middle East and Africa.
"Send, receive, and manage your money all in one place. No minimum balance. No hidden fees."
Open a free IBAN account digitally using your mobile number and facial recognition. No branch visit, no paperwork - the funds sit with a licensed partner bank.
A physical debit card with in-app controls - freeze, unfreeze and set limits - plus real-time notifications every time you spend.
Generate a card with its own number, CVV and expiry for online shopping and subscriptions, so a leaked checkout never exposes your main account.
Transactions are categorised automatically, with notes and receipts attached, giving a clear read on where the money actually goes.
Pay, organise and schedule bills from the app, with reminders so recurring payments don't slip.
Move money locally and across borders directly from the app - a core need in a region built on remittances.
YAP runs a partner-bank, Banking-as-a-Service model. It doesn't hold the deposits - it holds the relationship. Here is the division of labour that makes it possible.
Partners such as RAKBANK issue the IBANs and safeguard customer funds under their own banking licence and regulation.
The app, onboarding, analytics, card programme and support all belong to YAP - the parts customers see and judge.
YAP earns primarily through interchange on card spending and select value-added services, kept behind a "no minimum balance, no hidden fees" promise.
By repeating the partnership pattern market by market, YAP can localise banking without becoming a licensed bank everywhere it lands.
YAP is built for retail consumers in the UAE - digitally native users and the country's large expatriate population, many of whom want an account they can open in minutes rather than an afternoon. It has extended into youth accounts designed to teach younger users to budget, and is building out business banking in its expansion markets.
By mid-2022 the app had passed 130,000 users, and YAP has reported more than 150,000 customers onboarded since its March 2021 launch.
In a market that already has plenty of banks, YAP's advantage was never a better vault - it was a better first five minutes. Facial recognition and mobile verification replaced the branch visit, and the app's analytics-first design treats understanding your money, not just holding it, as the product.
It competes with Gulf and global neobanks such as Wio Bank, Liv by Emirates NBD, Mashreq Neo and Revolut - but leans on a licence-light structure and an emerging-markets expansion map to carve its own lane.
YAP has raised roughly $41 million in its latest round, capital pointed squarely at regional expansion. Backers span Gulf capital and family conglomerates.
Investors incl. Aljazira Capital · Abu Dawood Group / Ismail Abudawood Co. · Astra Group · Audacia Capital · Middle East Venture Partners
Debuts as the UAE's first independent digital banking platform, in partnership with RAKBANK, offering instant IBANs and a Mastercard debit card.
Secures $41 million to fund expansion into Saudi Arabia, Egypt, Pakistan and Ghana.
Wins the top fintech honour at Abu Dhabi Finance Week.
Targets going live across five markets and partners with Bank AlJazira to launch consumer and business banking in Saudi Arabia.
Secures regulatory approvals in Pakistan and Ghana as it builds multi-country banking rails.
YAP is a Dubai-based digital banking app that lets users open an account, get an instant IBAN and Mastercard, transfer money, pay bills and track spending - all from their phone.
YAP is a digital banking platform, not a licensed bank in the UAE. It partners with licensed banks - originally RAKBANK - that hold customer deposits, while YAP provides the app and experience.
YAP was founded by Marwan Hachem and Anas Zaidan and launched in March 2021.
YAP has raised roughly $41 million in its latest round, with backers including Aljazira Capital, Abu Dawood Group, Astra Group and Audacia Capital.
Beyond the UAE, YAP has targeted Saudi Arabia, Egypt, Pakistan and Ghana, securing regulatory approvals in Pakistan and Ghana.