• Hakbah to enhance its offering via Tarabut’s open banking and connectivity platform
  • Faster, easier and an even more cost-effective service for Hakbah customers

Riyadh, Saudi Arabia: Hakbah - the KSA-based fintech savings platform - announces a new partnership with Tarabut - MENA’s leading open banking platform, and an investor in the region’s digital transformation.

The partnership has several benefits for Hakbah as it simplifies and expedites various tasks. It will enable streamlined onboarding and enhanced data processing for customers, reduce the cost of Hakbah’s service, cut data processing time by 40%, and expand the customer offering by 20%.

These significant improvements will be facilitated by Tarabut’s open banking connectivity platform and other products. Tarabut’s mechanisms will also empower Hakbah to deliver innovative and tailored solutions, addressing current and future customer needs.

Today’s announcement is consistent with Hakbah’s strategy to partner with major players, to offer the best services, at an affordable cost.

Naif AbuSaida, The Founder of Hakbah, commented:

“This partnership is a combination of industry leaders. We are delighted to collaborate with a stellar platform such as Tarabut, as we further digitise traditional savings habits. Hakbah prides itself on the robust AI-powered technology base underpinning its savings engine and will always look to align with world-class partners to give the Company a further competitive edge. Tarabut has significant appeal technologically and commercially, which aligns perfectly with Hakbah and its ambitions for future growth.”

Abdulla Almoayed, CEO and Founder of Tarabut, commented:

"I am truly inspired by Hakbah's mission to modernise traditional savings and enhance financial inclusion in Saudi Arabia. Hakbah stands as a testament to the power of innovation and resilience, and our partnership is carving a path toward a more inclusive and accessible financial future for all. We are proud to join Hakbah on this journey."

Hakbah is one of MENA’s fastest growing start-ups and operates in KSA’s $20.5 billion Household Savings market. The Company has recorded a 23x increase in revenue over the last 20 months, struck several blue-chip partnerships with the likes of flynas, the national airline of Saudi Arabia and the leading low-cost airline in the Middle East, has a customer base of over 500,000 users (of which 70% are between 21-35 years old), and hired a top-tier product and development team.

Hakbah’s social savings platform - which strengthens financial inclusion and fully integrates with any banking system in less than a week - includes the digitization of traditional group savings (Jameya) with the purpose to spend on financial needs. Popular in over 60 countries worldwide, savings groups are a popular and traditional savings behavior.

Hakbah’s users prioritize total needs over time and share the pool of money - which is rotated amongst them. This elevates traditional savings behavior, allows saving for purpose, and increases financial literacy.

Hakbah’s model tackles the Middle East savings crisis. Savings are a key strategic objective in ‘Saudi Vision 2030’ and critical to the country’s Financial Sector Development Program. 70% of Saudi citizens are without emergency savings, while the country’s household savings rate averages just 1.6%.

Further information
Email: j.lawsondick@thoburns.com

About Hakbah

Hakbah is a savings platform which allows users to save and access funds via social savings. Hakbah makes savings for purpose accessible and beneficial to everyone, especially the underbanked.

Hakbah empowers people to take control of their social savings without hassle. Hakbah is permitted by the Saudi Central Bank (SAMA) to test its innovative services within the Regulatory Sandbox environment and graduated from the DIFC FinTech Hive Accelerator Program in 2019.

To date, and including the latest Series A fundraise, Hakbah has raised US$9 million.

To learn more about Hakbah, please visit https://www.hakbah.com.

About Tarabut

Tarabut is the MENA region's first and largest regulated open banking platform, connecting a regional network of banks and fintechs through a universal API. By offering tools that facilitate and distribute personalised financial services, Tarabut enables financial institutions to build a new world of financial services in the MENA region.

With offices in Bahrain, Saudi Arabia, and the UAE, Tarabut launched its API infrastructure in December 2019 and has already become a dedicated technology partner for leading banks in Bahrain. In October 2020, Tarabut expanded its presence in the MENA region, opening offices in Abu Dhabi and Dubai. In April 2022, Tarabut became the first open banking platform to secure AIS (account information services) and PIS (payment initiation services) Category 4 licenses from the Dubai Financial Services Authority (DFSA). In 2022, the Saudi Central Bank (SAMA) included Tarabut as one of the first participants in its Regulatory Sandbox.

In May 2023, Tarabut successfully completed a $32 million Series A fundraise, led by Pinnacle Capital and supported by Visa, Tiger Global, and Aljazira Capital. For more information, please visit: www.tarabut.com