The extent in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) remains an expensive and complex challenge for global companies, thanks to fragmented regulations and banking systems. Fintech based in Dubai Fuse aims to simplify this with a cross -border payments and lifted $ 6.6 million in seed funding to get there.
Founded in 2023 by George DavisFormer co-founder of BVNK and CTO James SmithFuse says that this is the first infrastructure quality payment platform offering virtual international bank account numbers (IBAN) in the region. This is a product that Davis says is commonplace in Europe but almost absent through Mena.
“We are currently the only supplier of virtual Ibans in the Middle East,” Davis told Techcrunch. “It is a hyper-cardable product in Europe, but here it simply did not exist.”
Fuse’s basic product includes USD virtual accounts for cross -border money movement and Ibans labeled by Dirham for local water payments. This allows the startup to offer collections to the first mile and last mile payments for international companies without obliging them to create a local entity, to manage their own FX or to navigate licenses.
Davis describes two inherited options for global companies trying to move money in MENA: local payment companies that lack scale, or the largest cross -border players like Thuns, who often operate without local licenses and count on unequal partnerships.
The fuse is in the middle with a fully licensed infrastructure quality platform that simplifies the movement of money through the Middle East using virtual ibans and local payment rails. With these options, global companies can operate in the region without configuring local infrastructure or navigating regulatory administrative formalities.
Most Fuse customers are companies in the United States, Europe and Asia who wish to operate in MENA but do not have the banking configuration or the licenses to do so quickly.
Virtual ibans to do the work
A use case is registration employers (EORS). For example, an American company with water employees generally needs a local bank account – something difficult to obtain without residence or license – to pay salaries in dirhams under the name of correct business. Fuse resolves this by issuing virtual IBANS denominated by the USD, allowing companies to complete them and pay wages locally in AED (dirhams) directly to the appointed beneficiaries.
Customers can “create unlimited Ibans in their end the names of customers and make local payments,” said CEO George Davis. “These customers do not need to be resident or have local entities; They can be anywhere in the world. “
Fuse now serves more than 20 customers, including EORs, fund transfer companies, cryptographic platforms, markets and PSPs. Customers include Dlocal, Remotepass and platforms like Deel, Airbnb and Etsy as they develop in Mena.
Water remain the anchor market of Fuse, but the platform began to allow direct payments to Saudi Arabia, Egypt and Jordan and supports large foreign exchanges for Indian and Chinese companies operating to water which must repatriate the funds by controlled corridors, some of the commercial and the most busy transfer routes.
There are many startups in various regions with identical offers, but Davis sees more similarities with Currencycloud supported by Visa. The two offer virtual accounts, FX and cross-border payments, “but although Currencycloud is global, the fuse is built for the Middle East,” he said.
And it’s striking at the right time. Companies through MENA are not only a bad thing; They make transactions more than ever, motivated by an increase in electronic commerce and digital payments. This request, according to Davis, creates a rare window for regional infrastructure players to win.
“World cross-border payments tend to be winning markets,” he said. “But to win, you now need local specialists. This is what we are building.”
Truelayer and Bvnk experience
So far, it works. Fuse deals with hundreds of millions of dollars per quarter and increasing income of more than 50% per month. In fact, Davis says that Fuse did more this quarter than last year. The company earns money by charging costs on each transaction.
Davis’ interest in solving cross-border payments for the Middle East came from first-hand experience. At Truelayer, he helped pass the fintech, from a data aggregator to a payment and bank platform open serving more than 100,000 companies. To the infrastructure startup BVNK Crypto, which he co-founded and was product manager, he saw how difficult he was for global companies to develop in the Middle East.
“We support global companies using Stablecoins to keep money from emerging markets,” he said. “We felt the pain of entering Mena, just like the others that I advised. This is what triggered the fuse. ”
He launched Fuse in 2023 with the CTO James Smith, a long -standing collaborator who directed engineering at Truelayer and BVNK. The two now lead a team of 12 people through engineering, products and compliance.
Northzone, the VC in several European floors which supported Klarna and Spotify, led the round of $ 6.6 million, with the participation of Florish Ventures, Alter Global and notable angels, including the CEO of Flutterswave Olugbenga “GB” Agboola and the former president of Morgan Stanley Mene George Makhoul.
“The team of fuses transforms the payment infrastructure on one of the fastest growth markets in the world,” said Sanjot Malhi, associated with Northzone. “Their ability to simplify the complex cross -border flows of Mena is exactly what the region needs.”
Fuse plans to use the new capital to develop its team, obtain additional regional licenses and extend its suite of products beyond water.
