Dubai, UAE – Expanding into the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) remains a costly and complex challenge for global businesses due to fragmented regulations and banking systems. Dubai-based fintech Fuse aims to simplify this with its cross-border payments API and has secured $6.6 million in seed funding to accelerate its mission.
Founded in 2023 by George Davis, former co-founder of BVNK, and James Smith, Fuse is the first infrastructure-grade payments platform offering virtual International Bank Account Numbers (IBANs) in the region. While commonplace in Europe, virtual IBANs were nearly absent across MENA before Fuse’s entry into the market.
“We’re currently the only provider of virtual IBANs in the Middle East,” said CEO George Davis. “It’s a hyper-commoditized product in Europe, but here, it simply didn’t exist.”
A New Approach to Payments in MENA
Fuse’s core product includes USD virtual accounts for cross-border transactions and dirham-denominated IBANs for local UAE payments. This allows international businesses to handle first-mile collections and last-mile payouts without the need for a local entity, complex foreign exchange (FX) processes, or licensing hurdles.
Traditionally, businesses looking to move money in MENA have had two options: rely on local payment firms that lack scale or engage global cross-border players like Thunes, which often operate without local licenses. Fuse bridges this gap by offering a fully licensed, infrastructure-grade platform that streamlines payments across MENA with virtual IBANs and local payout rails.
Serving Global Businesses with Local Expertise
Most of Fuse’s clients are businesses from the U.S., Europe, and Asia looking to operate in MENA without a local banking setup or regulatory complexities.
One key use case is Employers of Record (EORs). For example, a U.S.-based company hiring employees in the UAE would typically need a local bank account to process salaries in dirhams, which is difficult to obtain without residency or licensing. Fuse solves this by issuing USD-denominated virtual IBANs, allowing businesses to top them up and pay salaries in AED directly to beneficiaries.
“Customers can create unlimited IBANs in their end customers’ names and make local payments,” Davis explained. “Those customers don’t need to be residents or have local entities; they can be anywhere in the world.”
Fuse’s client roster includes leading EORs, remittance firms, crypto platforms, marketplaces, and PSPs, such as DLocal, RemotePass, Deel, Airbnb, and Etsy, as they expand into MENA.
Expanding Across MENA
While the UAE remains Fuse’s anchor market, the platform has expanded to direct payouts in Saudi Arabia, Egypt, and Jordan. It also facilitates wholesale FX for Indian and Chinese businesses operating in the UAE that need to repatriate funds through controlled corridors, among the busiest trade and remittance routes in the region.
Davis sees similarities between Fuse and Visa-backed Currencycloud, which also provides virtual accounts, FX, and cross-border payments. However, while Currencycloud operates globally, Fuse is built specifically for the Middle East.
“Global cross-border payments tend to be winner-takes-all markets,” Davis noted. “But to win, you now need local specialists. That’s what we’re building.”
Impressive Growth and Strategic Investment
Fuse is already processing hundreds of millions of dollars per quarter, with revenue growing over 50% month-over-month. Davis revealed that Fuse’s latest quarterly earnings exceeded its total revenue from last year. The company generates revenue by charging transaction fees.
Davis and Smith’s experience in fintech and payments has been instrumental in Fuse’s success. At TrueLayer, Davis helped scale the company from a data aggregator to a payments and open banking leader. At BVNK, he saw firsthand the challenges of global businesses expanding into MENA, inspiring him to launch Fuse.
Funding and Future Plans
The $6.6 million seed round was led by Northzone, a European multi-stage VC known for backing Klarna and Spotify. Other investors include Flourish Ventures, Alter Global, and notable angel investors such as Flutterwave CEO Olugbenga “GB” Agboola and former Morgan Stanley MENA president George Makhoul.
“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.”
Fuse plans to use the new capital to expand its team, secure additional regional licenses, and broaden its product offerings beyond the UAE. As MENA’s digital payment landscape grows, Fuse is well-positioned to become the region’s leading cross-border payments provider.
