17 Jun 2025 - By Abdulla Almoayed, Founder & CEO, Tarabut
And that’s exactly where the financial sector now stands.
There are moments in any industry that split time in two.
There was a time before smartphones and a time after.
Before APIs. After APIs.
Before embedded finance. After embedded finance.
In fintech, we talk a lot about what’s coming next.
In fintech, we talk a lot about what’s coming next.
But this — embedded finance — isn’t next.
This is the shift we’ve been waiting for and it’s already underway.
The shift has begun. And it’s not a product trend or feature enhancement.
The shift has begun. And it’s not a product trend or feature enhancement.
It’s a full-scale rewire of how, where, and when finance happens.
Embedded finance changes that. It puts financing inside the moment, inside the flow of life and business. Whether it’s a merchant restocking inventory, or a customer buying a car, finance now shows up exactly where it’s needed, when it’s needed.
That shift sounds simple, but it’s massive. It moves finance from being an afterthought to being part of the moment. This isn’t just a better UX. It’s a complete rethink of where finance lives and who it should work for.
In the Kingdom of Bahrain, we’ve joined forces with Eazy Financial Services, integrating real-time credit access into everyday business transactions. And in both markets, we are connected to all banks which means the rails are already live. Our partners get full market reach, real-time data, and embedded access at scale. The real work now is about orchestration, delivery, and scale.
What’s exciting isn’t just what we’re building, it’s what we’ve learned from working with some of the most forward-looking banks in the region, building embedded finance into their infrastructure and activating it through live, real-world use cases. Many of them aren’t waiting to be disrupted. They’re asking better questions and they’re moving fast.
We don’t ask them to rethink their entire strategy, we enable them to deliver financing smarter, faster, and closer to the customer than ever before.
In Saudi Arabia:
From infrastructure to impact
The problem isn’t new: finance has always lived elsewhere. It lives outside the moment, on a different screen, in a different system, far from where decisions actually happen. For decades, financial services have lived on the edge of the customer experience. We applied for loans. We waited for approvals. We left the customer journey to go find the financing.Embedded finance changes that. It puts financing inside the moment, inside the flow of life and business. Whether it’s a merchant restocking inventory, or a customer buying a car, finance now shows up exactly where it’s needed, when it’s needed.
That shift sounds simple, but it’s massive. It moves finance from being an afterthought to being part of the moment. This isn’t just a better UX. It’s a complete rethink of where finance lives and who it should work for.
What embedded finance is teaching us
Embedded finance is not just a product capability. It’s a mindset shift, for lenders, fintechs and for regulators. It requires new ways of thinking about distribution, trust and timing. It also requires proximity to data, decision-making and to the point of action.What we’re building at Tarabut
In the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, we’ve partnered with Geidea, one of the region’s largest POS providers, to enable embedded SME financing directly at the point of sale. We’ve also partnered with SAB bank to bring embedded finance solutions to life across the Kingdom. And with MUHIDE, we’re streamlining real-time financing for small businesses.In the Kingdom of Bahrain, we’ve joined forces with Eazy Financial Services, integrating real-time credit access into everyday business transactions. And in both markets, we are connected to all banks which means the rails are already live. Our partners get full market reach, real-time data, and embedded access at scale. The real work now is about orchestration, delivery, and scale.
What’s exciting isn’t just what we’re building, it’s what we’ve learned from working with some of the most forward-looking banks in the region, building embedded finance into their infrastructure and activating it through live, real-world use cases. Many of them aren’t waiting to be disrupted. They’re asking better questions and they’re moving fast.
We don’t ask them to rethink their entire strategy, we enable them to deliver financing smarter, faster, and closer to the customer than ever before.
Why this matters now, especially for SMEs
The case for embedded finance is nowhere stronger than with SMEs. They are the backbone of the region’s economies, but still under-financed and underserved.In Saudi Arabia:
- 21.9% of GDP came from SMEs in 2023. The target is 35% by 2030.
- $93.7B in SME financing was issued in 2024, a 27.7% year-on-year increase.
- But still, only 9.4% of total bank credit goes to SMEs, and the national target is 20%
We don’t reach those targets with status quo banking. We get there by embedding finance in real workflows, using real-time POS data, and automating what used to take weeks.
This is what modern customers expect.
Less friction. More inclusion. Smarter access.
It doesn’t stop at SMEs
We’re already enabling embedded auto financing where the customer gets qualified in minutes, at the dealership, without ever opening a banking app.This is what modern customers expect.
Not a new form. Not a faster branch.
Real-time, embedded eligibility, inside the journeys they’re already in.
The bigger shift underneath it all
Embedded finance solves a real problem:Finance is too slow. Too disconnected. Too far from the moment of need.
The more we embed, the clearer it becomes. This isn’t about financing, it’s about timing, context and precision. It’s about how we turn infrastructure into outcomes, with fewer steps, less friction, and more reach.
At Tarabut, we are focused on:
The more we embed, the clearer it becomes. This isn’t about financing, it’s about timing, context and precision. It’s about how we turn infrastructure into outcomes, with fewer steps, less friction, and more reach.
At Tarabut, we are focused on:
- Instant, embedded credit experiences
- Personalised approvals built on trusted data
- Infrastructure that works across banks, fintechs, and everything in between
We are not waiting for a revolution. We are already in it. And we’re building the systems that make it work today, across MENA, and in every moment that matters.
Relevant releases
Unlocking Opportunities with POS Financing: The Future of Invisible Lending in the GCC
Digitisation is perpetually transforming industries, redefining how we shop, travel and consume entertainment. Yet, applying for a loan still feels like a process indelibly stuck in the past, burdened by paperwork, endless documentation requests, and prolonged approval cycles.
