By Ali Al-Marjibi, Founder, Tawjih AI and MVSxAI
The UAE stands out as one of the stronger places in MENA right now for fintech that can actually scale. I say that from the inside, building in the space.
2026 has been rough on funding across the region yet the UAE kept its footing and came in third worldwide for fintech money in the first quarter, something like 486 million dollars. MENA overall saw startup funding fall 37 percent from the year before. That difference points to where money heads when rules are clear, the pipes work, and people already use digital banking without thinking twice.
AI has moved past being an add-on. In the UAE it sits inside fraud checks, credit models, risk work and the sort of personal touch that once needed a whole support crew. Companies built around it look leaner, move quicker and actually use the data they gather. Capital, rules that move with the tech, and customers who expect digital service from the start, that mix is rare. Founders here can ship and keep going without the usual blocks. It helps explain why the UAE should stay ahead of fintech change in MENA for the next few years.
Infrastructure that keeps learning comes next. Lending, payments, fraud work and how teams talk to customers can all shift as things move instead of sitting on rules written months earlier. Older systems cannot keep up. When money gets tighter that difference starts to decide who raises and who does not. Investors want numbers they can check on efficiency and staying power. AI-native outfits often show lower costs and fewer mistakes. In uncertain times the edge goes to those who decide with fresher information.
Banks feel the same squeeze. Most have tried AI in one small spot, a chat tool or a fraud screen. The real task is threading it through the whole path a customer takes, from first sign-up to credit calls to ongoing service. The banks that manage it will not hand every choice to code. They will pair the models with people who still understand relationships. Customers have less patience now. They want speed and fit without waiting, and places still running on batch data and slow updates will lose ground to outfits that respond on the spot.
That pressure does not have to hurt the bigger players. AI can help banks tighten fraud controls, spot risk earlier and offer products that match what someone actually needs instead of a broad category. In places where trust counts as much as speed, getting that mix right will shape who stays ahead.
I have watched it happen while working on Tawjih AI. The ecosystem moves quickly when conditions line up, yet staying near the rules and close to real customer needs matters more than pure technical reach. Our work now centers on sharper decision tools and growth across the region.
The question has changed from whether AI will change financial services here to who will move quickly enough to lead it. For founders and banks alike the chance sits in acting now, placing AI at the center and shaping the next round of services before the opening closes.
About Tawjih AI
Tawjih AI is an artificial intelligence application, designed to help commercial banks across the GCC transition from generic marketing to highly tailored, behaviour-driven financial product recommendations. The platform integrates fragmented legacy data into a unified layer, applies advanced AI to analyse transaction patterns, and enables the delivery of personalised, compliant product offers that improve customer engagement and conversion rates.
Contact:
+968 91418474
