• Saudi Arabia-based fintech Spare has raised $5 million in pre-Series A led by anb Seed Fund, with participation from 500 MENA, Vision Ventures, SEEDRA Ventures, MEVP, Boubyan Ventures and others.
• Founded in 2019 by Dalal Alrayes and Sourabh Shah, Spare provides open banking APIs for account data access, account-to-account payments, identity verification, risk scoring, and recurring payments.
• The funding will go towards strengthening bank integrations, building new products, and expanding regionally.
• In 2023, Spare raised a $3 million funding round, led by Vision Ventures and supported by Wa'ed Ventures, Seedra Ventures, global investment firm 500 Global, and several angel investors; the company is licensed in Bahrain, authorised under Saudi Arabia’s sandbox, piloting in Kuwait, and has received preliminary approval for an open finance license in the UAE.

Press release:

Spare, a fast-growing open banking infrastructure provider based in Riyadh, has raised USD 5 million in a pre-Series A funding round. The round was led by anb Seed Fund, the venture capital fund of ANB Capital —a subsidiary of Arab National Bank’s (ANB) investment arm and one of Saudi Arabia’s leading financial institutions. Other investors included Vision Ventures, SEEDRA Ventures, 500 Global, Boubyan Ventures, Middle East Venture Partners (MEVP), and a group of prominent investors.

Founded by Dalal AlRayes and Saurabh Shah in 2019, Spare is pioneering financial connectivity across the MENA region. Licensed by the Central Bank of Bahrain and regulated by several GCC central banks, Spare provides a secure and unified API platform for financial data access and account-to-account payments, enabling capabilities such as account aggregation, identity verification, risk assessment, and single recurring payments. Spare’s infrastructure is already trusted by leading players like Tap Payments, Tamara, and Zid, helping them deliver faster, more secure, and user-centric financial services.

The new capital will be used to scale Spare’s Open Banking platform and API integrations, accelerate product development, and drive expansion across the GCC. With a growing network of over 35 financial institutions, Spare is emerging as the infrastructure backbone of open finance in the region – delivering market-leading products with speed, focus, and capital efficiency.

Dalal AlRayes, Spare Co-founder and CEO stated: "We’re building the financial rails for the next generation of businesses in MENA. This investment allows us to move faster, doubling down on product innovation, deepening our integrations with regional banks, and accelerating adoption of secure, localised fintech infrastructure solutions across the region.

Omar Ardati of the anb seed Fund commented, “Spare is setting a new standard for financial infrastructure in MENA. Their commitment to speed, simplicity, and security – combined with a profound understanding of local market dynamics – makes them a standout company in the region’s fintech landscape.”

Kais Alessa of Vision Ventures added, 'Spare’s founders are building what the region truly needs – secure, seamless financial connectivity that empowers businesses and drives meaningful progress.' We’re proud to support their vision to unlock the full potential of open banking in MENA. Spare’s success is a testament to the power of focus, speed, and deep regional insight.”

As MENA’s open finance momentum builds, Spare is uniquely positioned to lead. In Saudi Arabia, the Saudi Central Bank (SAMA) has launched the Open Banking Lab and rolled out a phased regulatory framework to unlock secure, interoperable connectivity across the financial system. Similarly, the Central Bank of the UAE is advancing its Open Finance framework, reinforcing the region’s shift toward real-time, data-driven financial services. With the MENA Open Finance market projected to reach USD 10.16 billion by 2030, Spare is laying the infrastructure foundation for the region’s next decade of financial innovation.

This funding marks a new chapter in Spare’s journey – deepening its impact across MENA by advancing bank integrations, accelerating its product roadmap, and enabling a new standard of financial connectivity for the region’s digital economy.