UAE-based Fintech Ziina is coming to Jordan

Gina, the UAE-based, YC-backed startup with a mission to bring financial freedom to everyone in the Middle East, is coming to Jordan. Having launched their digital wallet as well as their proprietary payments keyboard Ziiboard in February 2022, Jordan’s expansion just this month is the latest milestone in the fintech company’s rapid succession of innovations.

For co-founder Faisal and Sarah Tucan, Ziina’s first international foray represents a return. Both founders grew up in Amman before continuing their studies in the United States. Their decision to move to Jordan before any other Middle Eastern country was driven by their desire to enhance and strengthen their country by expanding access to financial services.

Faisal Tukansaid Ziina’s CEO and co-founder, “Jordan’s median age is around 23 years, which makes the majority of the population digital natives. The Central Bank of Jordan has recognized this, including microfinance, digital financial services and SME finance as its core sectoral pillars. As A proud Jordanian, I’m excited to introduce Ziina to my home country. Our team has worked tirelessly to develop a product that makes the payment process infinitely faster and more convenient, while also prioritizing a pleasant user experience. We have no doubt that Ziina will make it easier for every Jordanian to get paid.”

Today, Ziina is one of the few MENA companies to enter Y-Combinator. The company has successfully raised $9 million in a seed round from investors including Avenir Growth, Goodwater Capital, ANIM, Oman Technology Fund, Class 5 Global, Long Journey Ventures, Graph Ventures, Jabbar Internet Group, Wamda and FJ Labs, as And employees and executives of PayPal, Instagram, Stripe, Revolut, Venmo, Brex, Checkout.com, Notion, Block, Airbnb, and Deel.

Heralding a new era of digital consumer finance requires a strong team. The Jordan siblings and their California co-founder Andrew Gold have recruited a world-class team with extensive experience at companies including Apple, Uber, Coinbase, Careem, Yandex, Funding Circle, Bain & Co, Talabat, and Oracle.

A standout feature of Ziina products is their design, which has been recognized and rewarded by nine international UI/UX design awards, including the Red Dot Award. The interface makes it easy for users to send and receive payments to anyone with just a few taps. Ziina eliminates the need for cumbersome IBANs and quick code entry, and makes the payment experience seamless and social with GIFs, photos, text and emojis.

Ziina believes that access should not be a privilege, but a right. The company focuses on developing state-of-the-art tools that are delightful to use and give individuals greater control over their financial futures. Ziina believes this financial prosperity should be in your hands; it pioneers the future of personal finance.

Peer-to-peer payment services are on the rise globally as they eliminate the need to make physical cash payments. For Ziina, Jordan represents the next exciting chapter in the company’s mission to achieve financial freedom in the Middle East.