Hala
Founded 2017 · 732 employees on LinkedIn · 10 known investors
Hala is a financial technology platform offering a business account that provides instant settlement of sales, payment acceptance and sending, expense control, and financing. It serves freelancers, small and medium businesses, and larger enterprises in Saudi Arabia.
Also known as HALA · HALA Holding · Hala Payments
Investors · 10
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Also in the syndicate · 3
Funding
SEC filings, press & company announcements- Undisclosed amountSeries BSep 2025 · 2 sources
Sanabil Investments (lead), TPG - The Rise Fund (lead), Arzan VC, BNVT Capital, Endeavor Catalyst, Impact 46, Isometry Capital, Kaltaire Investments, Khwarizmi Ventures, Middle East Venture Partners (MEVP), Nour Nouf Ventures, QED, Raed Ventures, Wamda Capital
Source ↗
Source: company announcements and press reports — follow each round's link for the claim.
Company profile
researched Aug 2026Hala is a Saudi Arabia-based fintech company that provides embedded financial services to micro, small and medium enterprises (MSMEs) and freelancers. Its product suite spans business accounts, card issuance, payment and transfer services, point-of-sale (POS) solutions, corporate cards and financing. The group operates under HALA Holding, with a holding entity in the UAE and headquarters in Saudi Arabia, and its payments activity is regulated by the Saudi Central Bank.
The company was founded in 2018 by Esam Alnahdi, who serves as chairman, and Maher Loubieh, who serves as co-founder and group CEO. Hala's POS offering is described as a device that can be activated in as little as 15 minutes and delivered to a merchant location; merchants can process card payments without a bank account provided they hold a legally registered trade license. Hala has grown partly through acquisition, buying Saudi startup Fresh in 2021 — which added a feature called Hala Cashier enabling integration of non-financial value-added services — and subsequently acquiring UAE-based online payment platform Paymennt.com (formerly PointCheckout), which offered payment links, e-commerce and QR code payments plus API integrations for web stores and had served more than 3,000 micro and small businesses.
As of the September 2025 Series B announcement, Hala reported serving more than 140,000 businesses (over 142,000 per some reports) and processing more than $8 billion in annual transactions. Proceeds from the round are earmarked for strengthening its Saudi position, expanding embedded finance and lending products for MSMEs and freelancers, and regional expansion.
Founding story
Hala was founded in 2018 by Esam Alnahdi and Maher Loubieh to offer SME banking and freelancer solutions that help small businesses start, run and grow.
Business model
Hala provides financial infrastructure and services to business customers, combining business accounts, card issuance, payment acceptance and transfers, POS hardware and software, corporate cards and financing/lending products into an embedded financial services offering for MSMEs and freelancers.
Revenue derives from payment processing and financial services sold to merchants, including POS and payment acceptance, card issuance and transfers, corporate cards and financing products.
Traction
More than 140,000 businesses served (reported as over 142,000 in some coverage) and more than $8 billion in annual transactions processed as of September 2025, up from more than 50,000 SMEs and around $3 billion in annualised transactions cited in an earlier company profile.
Latest developments
On 15 September 2025 Hala announced a $157 million Series B round led by TPG's The Rise Fund and Sanabil Investments, with participation from QED, Raed Ventures, Impact 46, Middle East Venture Partners, Isometry Capital, Arzan VC, BNVT Capital, Kaltaire Investments, Endeavor Catalyst, Nour Nouf Ventures, Khwarizmi Ventures and Wamda Capital. Funds are to be used for embedded financial services, lending products for MSMEs and freelancers, and regional expansion.
▸Full profile — market position, technology, go-to-market, geography, history
Market position
Described in its Series B announcement as Saudi Arabia's leading fintech provider of embedded financial services to MSMEs and as the region's MSME-focused fintech leader; the $157 million Series B was characterised as one of the largest fintech Series B rounds in the Middle East. The investment marked The Rise Funds' first Middle East and Saudi Arabia investment.
Onboarding designed for very small businesses: POS activation in as little as 15 minutes and card payment acceptance without requiring a bank account, alongside a single account covering both offline and online payments following the Paymennt.com acquisition.
Technology
Payments and banking platform combining POS terminals that can be activated within about 15 minutes, card issuance, account and transfer rails, and online payment capabilities acquired with Paymennt.com such as payment links, e-commerce checkout, QR code payments and APIs for launching web-based stores.
Go-to-market
Direct acquisition of merchants and freelancers in Saudi Arabia with rapid onboarding (POS activation in minutes; no bank account required with a valid trade license), supplemented by acquisitions of complementary product companies and planned regional expansion.
Micro, small and medium enterprises and freelancers, primarily in Saudi Arabia, including retail and service merchants that require payment acceptance without a conventional bank account.
Geography
Headquartered in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, with a holding company in the UAE; the Series B is intended in part to fund expansion of its presence regionally.
History
Founded in 2018, Hala built a merchant base of over 50,000 merchants within roughly two years and expanded through acquisitions: Saudi startup Fresh in 2021, which added the Hala Cashier feature, and UAE-based online payments platform Paymennt.com, its second acquisition. In October 2024 the company joined the Saudi Unicorns Programme, and in September 2025 it announced a $157 million Series B round led by TPG's The Rise Fund and Sanabil Investments.
Compiled by commissioned research from 7 cited public sources — announcements, filings, and press listed under research sources below.
Key figures
latest reportedCompany-reported or press-reported figures, each dated to when it was claimed — not independently audited.
Timeline · 4
launches, deals, and filingsHALA Holding announced a $157 million Series B round, described as one of the largest fintech Series B rounds in the Middle East, to strengthen its Saudi position, expand embedded financial services and lending for MSMEs and freelancers, and support regional expansion. The round marked The Rise Funds' first Middle East and Saudi Arabia investment.
$157M source ↗
Hala acquired Paymennt.com (formerly PointCheckout), a UAE online payment platform launched in 2017 offering payment links, e-commerce and QR code payments and API integrations, which had served over 3,000 micro and small businesses. It was Hala's second acquisition.
Hala's first acquisition; it led to the addition of Hala Cashier, a platform feature allowing integration of non-financial value-added services for SME customers.
Dated company events from announcements, filings, and press; legal rows summarize public dockets and regulator releases.
In the news
▸Research sources · 7
primary sources listed
- Halaby-hala.com · web
7 public sources were cited for this profile; the first-party ones are listed here.
Frequently asked questions
- What does Hala do?
- Saudi fintech providing embedded financial services — business accounts, payments, POS, cards and financing — to MSMEs.
- Who are Hala's investors?
- Hala's investors include Khwarizmi Ventures, Middle East Venture Partners (MEVP), RAED Ventures, Wamda Capital, All In Capital, Impact46, Recur Club.