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Expanding into the complex markets of the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) presents significant hurdles for global businesses, largely due to disparate regulations and intricate banking systems. Dubai-based fintech innovator, Fuse, is tackling this challenge head-on with its cross-border payments API. Having recently secured $6.6 million in seed funding, Fuse aims to streamline international transactions and simplify financial operations throughout the MENA region.
Established in 2023 by George Davis, previously a co-founder at BVNK, and CTO James Smith, Fuse asserts its position as the premier infrastructure-grade payments platform providing virtual International Bank Account Numbers (IBANs) within the region. Davis highlights that this product, while standard in Europe, is conspicuously absent across MENA.
“Presently, we are the sole provider of virtual IBANs in the Middle East,” Davis stated in an interview. “It is a highly commoditized offering in Europe; however, it simply did not exist here,” he emphasized.
Fuse’s primary offering incorporates USD virtual accounts designed for international money movement and dirham-pegged IBANs facilitating local UAE payments. This enables the startup to deliver first-mile collections and last-mile payouts for international businesses without the prerequisite of establishing a local entity, managing foreign exchange complexities, or navigating licensing procedures.
Davis identifies two conventional pathways for global companies seeking to transact financially in MENA: regional payment firms lacking substantial scale, or larger cross-border entities like Thunes, which frequently operate without local licenses and rely on inconsistent partnerships.
Fuse occupies a strategic position, offering a fully licensed, infrastructure-grade platform that simplifies financial flows throughout the Middle East via virtual IBANs and local payout networks. These resources empower global businesses to operate effectively in the region without necessitating local infrastructure setups or negotiating intricate regulatory frameworks.
A majority of Fuse’s clientele comprises enterprises based in the U.S., Europe, and Asia aiming to conduct business in MENA but lacking the requisite banking infrastructure or licenses for swift market entry.
Virtual IBANs: Streamlining Operations
One significant application is for employers of record (EORs). For example, a U.S.-based firm with employees in the UAE typically needs a local bank account—often challenging to secure without residency or licensing—to distribute salaries in dirhams bearing the correct business name. Fuse addresses this by providing USD-denominated virtual IBANs, allowing businesses to deposit funds and disburse salaries locally in AED (dirhams) directly to designated recipients.
Customers are able to “generate unlimited IBANs under their end customers’ names and execute local payments,” explained CEO George Davis. “These customers are not required to be residents or possess local entities; they can be situated anywhere globally.”
Fuse currently supports over 20 clients, including EORs, remittance companies, crypto platforms, marketplaces, and PSPs. Their client roster includes DLocal, RemotePass, and platforms such as Deel, Airbnb, and Etsy, as they expand their presence into MENA.
While the UAE remains Fuse’s primary market, the platform has broadened its capabilities to include direct payouts in Saudi Arabia, Egypt, and Jordan. It also facilitates wholesale foreign exchange for Indian and Chinese businesses operating within the UAE that require repatriation of funds via controlled corridors, representing some of the region’s most active trade and remittance routes.
While numerous startups in various regions offer similar services, Davis perceives greater parallels with Visa-backed Currencycloud. Both furnish virtual accounts, FX, and cross-border payments, “but while Currencycloud maintains a global scope, Fuse is specifically engineered for the Middle East,” he clarified.
This venture is strategically timed, as businesses throughout MENA are not only underserved but also experiencing heightened transaction volumes, fueled by a surge in e-commerce and digital payments. Davis believes this demand creates a unique opportunity for regional infrastructure players to gain prominence.
“Global cross-border payments markets tend to be dominated by a few major players,” he noted. “However, achieving success now necessitates local specialists. This specialization is the foundation of what we are building.”
Leveraging Experience from TrueLayer and BVNK
Thus far, Fuse’s approach is proving effective. The company is processing hundreds of millions of dollars quarterly and experiencing revenue growth exceeding 50% month-over-month. Davis highlights that Fuse’s revenue this quarter surpassed its total revenue from the previous year. The company’s revenue model is based on transaction fees.
Davis’s focus on resolving cross-border payments challenges in the Middle East is rooted in direct experience. At TrueLayer, he was instrumental in scaling the fintech from a data aggregator to a comprehensive payments and open banking platform serving over 100,000 businesses. During his tenure as co-founder and chief product officer at crypto infrastructure startup BVNK, he witnessed firsthand the complexities faced by global businesses expanding into the Middle East.
“We were assisting global businesses in utilizing stablecoins for money movement out of emerging markets,” he recounted. “We directly experienced the challenges of entering MENA—as did others I was advising. This experience ignited the concept for Fuse.”
He launched Fuse in 2023 in collaboration with CTO James Smith, a long-term colleague who previously led engineering teams at both TrueLayer and BVNK. Together, they lead a 12-person team encompassing engineering, product development, and compliance functions.
Northzone, a European multi-stage VC firm with investments in companies like Klarna and Spotify, spearheaded the $6.6 million funding round. Participation also included Flourish Ventures, Alter Global, and prominent angel investors, such as Flutterwave CEO Olugbenga “GB” Agboola and former Morgan Stanley MENA president George Makhoul.
“The Fuse team is revolutionizing payment infrastructure within one of the world’s fastest-growing markets,” stated Sanjot Malhi, partner at Northzone. “Their capacity to simplify MENA’s intricate cross-border financial flows is precisely what the region requires.”
Fuse intends to allocate the newly acquired capital to expand its team, secure additional regional licenses, and broaden its product offerings beyond the UAE.