Tabby Raises $233 Million at a $6.5 Billion Valuation
The Gulf fintech is using fresh equity to deepen its Saudi and UAE businesses as it expands beyond buy now, pay later.
Saudi Arabia-headquartered Tabby has raised $233 million in a Series F equity round that values the consumer-finance company at $6.5 billion. Blue Pool Capital led the financing, joined by HSG, Wellington Management and Arbor Ventures. The round includes both newly issued shares and secondary sales that provide liquidity to employees.
The valuation is up from $4.5 billion after Tabby's previous share sale in October 2025. That increase comes during a difficult period for many consumer lenders, making the company's scale, licences and profitability central to the investment case.
Tabby says it processes more than $18 billion of annualised transaction volume, has 25 million registered users and works with about 70,000 merchants. Chief executive Hosam Arab told Reuters that the new money is intended mainly to deepen operations in Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates rather than fund an immediate push into many new countries.
Moving beyond instalments
Tabby became known for buy now, pay later products, which split purchases into scheduled payments. Its newer licences broaden that model. In Saudi Arabia, it can offer larger and longer-term consumer financing as well as working capital to businesses. In the UAE, it has permission to launch a cash product positioned as an alternative to a traditional debit account.
That expansion can increase revenue per customer and make the platform more useful between retail purchases. It also changes the risk profile. Longer-duration credit is more exposed to unemployment, interest rates and borrower overextension than short instalment plans. Small-business finance adds underwriting complexity and concentration risk. A cash account alternative creates greater expectations around safeguarding, availability and compliance.
The company says it is profitable and well capitalised. It has not disclosed the ownership percentage sold, detailed financial statements or the balance between primary and secondary shares. Those omissions make it difficult to compare the headline valuation with revenue, earnings or book value. They also limit visibility into how much fresh cash is available for growth.
Regional significance
The round is one of the largest recent fintech financings in the Gulf. It shows that global growth investors still see a path to scale in markets where digital commerce is expanding and regulators are issuing licences for new credit and payments models. It also gives Tabby more capacity to compete with banks, wallets and other non-bank lenders for daily financial relationships.
Saudi Arabia is especially important. The kingdom's large consumer market and economic diversification agenda have attracted payment and lending companies, but regulation and credit performance will determine which platforms endure. In the UAE, a crowded fintech market offers affluent customers and regional connectivity, while increasing the cost of acquisition and compliance.
An initial public offering remains a possibility rather than a plan. Arab said Tabby does not need to force the timing and will choose a market based on long-term fit. That flexibility matters after periods when technology listings were punished for weak margins or aggressive credit growth.
Why it matters
Tabby's financing illustrates the transition of leading buy now, pay later companies into broader financial platforms. The opportunity is to turn a checkout relationship into a recurring account spanning payments, borrowing and business finance. The risk is that each added product brings new capital, conduct and credit obligations.
Consumers gain more choice, but should assess the cost and structure of longer-term credit. Merchants may benefit from conversion and working-capital products, while banks face a well-funded competitor with strong transaction data. Investors now need evidence that Tabby's higher valuation is supported by durable profitability, not only rapid volume growth.