UAE-based payments platform SimpliFi has launched its card issuance platform platform in MENA and Pakistan region.
It is comprised of a rich set of publicly available APIs and an easy to use portal, any business, be it a fintech, gig platform, enterprise or SME, can issue cards instantly and manage their program end to end through SimpliFi.
The company closed its seed round earlier in the year led by Raed Ventures which has also backed MENA heavyweights such as Tabby and Lean. Rally Cap, a global venture collective focusing on early stage, emerging market fintech opportunities and Sukna Ventures, an early stage regional VC, also participated along with a number of angels including Chris Adelsbach, Idris Bello, Osama AlRaee, Abdullah Mohammed Al-Dosari and current and former executives at Facebook, Careem, Plaid and Remitly.
Founded in 2020 by Ali Sattar, previously head of CareemPay commented:
“Prepaid cards are highly versatile with a host of use cases allowing businesses to streamline operations, generate new revenue streams and drive loyalty. Until now banks have had the exclusivity in issuing cards. We are changing that by empowering every business to become a payments company and participating in the benefits from financial ownership, without the underlying complexities and hassle. The massive impact this can create on the financial services ecosystem in the region inspires us to wake up every day.”
“Investing in SimpliFi was an easy decision given the problem it is solving, the vision and experience of the team and the early traction they have had. We see card issuance being a common need and a major pain point for a number of businesses we speak to and are excited to be supporting SimpliFi as they build the payments infrastructure to enable companies in the region to build and scale.” says Wael Nafee, a member of the investment team at Raed Ventures.
