How Fuze is building the future of payments in the UAE

Powering next-gen payments with full compliance and zero compromise and transforming region’s financial ecosystems

Mohammed Ali Yusuf (Mo Ali Yusuf) is the CEO and co-founder of Fuze, which provides cutting-edge financial infrastructure for a range of institutions and enterprises. Recently, the business secured a new payment licence from the Central Bank of the United Arab Emirates, under its subsidiary FuzePay, a huge milestone for a company with ambitions to transform the region’s financial ecosystems. This achievement marks the culmination of months of rigorous preparation, deep engagement with regulatory authorities, and a shared vision for the future of finance in the region.

Why payments regulation matters

Payments are one of the most highly regulated areas of financial services, simply because the movement of money from one party to another is critical for every organisation, business and customer. Each organisation looking to operate across payments must be approved, in the case of the UAE, this falls under the Central Bank's licencing remit of Retail Payment Services and Card Schemes (RPSCS). Recently, Fuze gained such a licence, ensuring we can add next-generation onshore payments to our suite of holistic financial infrastructure. This licence validates our approach and outlines the trust held in us by the regulator to serve the domestic financial community, opening legitimate use cases for onshore, compliant payments

Without the appropriate regulation, payments would be a minefield of security breaches. However, the rigours of complying with payments regulations, here in the UAE and in the rest of the world means the status quo for financial services has often prevailed. Institutions have hesitated to innovate too far, in fear of non-compliance, but by sitting on the fence it has left gaps in user experience and money on the table for these financial organisations.

Innovating towards a new world for payments

We think differently - we believe that the future of money movement should be instant, intelligent and secure. The payments of the past should not power the future of finance. By deploying a proprietary, AI-powered technology stack, Fuze is able to offer fully regulated, onshore payment solutions with real-time transactions and settlements. It's fast and effective for businesses, improves operational efficiency and ultimately provides a better all-round experience when moving money. It's important to note too, that we are not just upgrading old legacy systems, we are finding new ways for technology to serve institutions, enterprises and merchants in a better fashion.

One way we are improving the experience is in supporting virtual IBANs; this allows businesses to streamline and reconcile payments with efficiency, with faster processing times, reduced fees and increased control over transactions. Another aspect is that the next generation of finance will be programmable and automated. Rather than through manual intervention, fund flows will be automated, and errors minimised, ensuring the movement of capital is intelligent.  

Collaboration at the core

Fuze's payments platform is 100 per cent built in-house and designed to support banks, fintechs, enterprises and governments that want to modernise how money moves, without relying on legacy systems or fragmented providers. Given our in-house capabilities, our payments platform is not based on rigid architecture, but agile and adaptable to evolving client needs and regulatory requirements.

Recently, we secured a Series A funding round, backed by Galaxy and e& capital. Part of the latter's commitment to Fuze was in our ability to collaborate effectively with existing businesses – as Harrison Lung, group chief strategy officer at e& said; "There's a natural synergy between Fuze and our fintech portfolio, from e& money to Wio and Careem Pay." We agree – there's a robust opportunity to collaborate towards successful financial services innovation.

Another important way that differentiates Fuze from other payments providers is in our close work with the regulators. For example, in the UAE, we have aligned closely with the regulators to ensure our systems meet the highest standards of compliance and security, while offering the agility and scale that modern digital native institutions require. Innovation should never come at the expense of security or stability, and through collaboration we can ensure compliance is built-in from the very core.

Financial transformation

As the UAE continues its journey toward becoming a global financial and innovation hub, Fuze is proud to be building the infrastructure that will power this future; one payment, one partnership, and one breakthrough at a time. Our RPSCS payments licence doesn't just validate our model, it unlocks the future of finance. Fuze is keen to support national progress and financial transformation in line with the visions and strategies of regional governments and right now the UAE has all the tools, talent and regulatory environment to lead the world in building a secure, smart and inclusive financial ecosystem.

For more information, visit the website: fuzepay.co.