Lean Technologies, a financial infrastructure provider serving MENA, has received In-Principle Approval (IPA) from the Central Bank of the UAE under the country’s newly launched Open Finance Framework, positioning it among the first fintechs to operate within the new regime.
The approval is a step toward full licensing and comes as the UAE seeks to accelerate financial connectivity and inclusion through regulated data-sharing and account access protocols. For Lean, it marks a regulatory milestone in a broader push to scale its payments and data infrastructure across the region.
Founded in 2019 by Hisham Al-Falih, Ashu Gupta, and Aditya Sarkar, Lean enables businesses such as Tabby, Talabat, and Careem to access user-permissioned financial data and initiate account-to-account payments. The company says it has processed over $2 billion in transaction volume across more than 1 million connected accounts. Its infrastructure supports use cases spanning credit underwriting, digital lending, payments, and budgeting tools.
The announcement builds on earlier regulatory clearances in the region. In 2022, Lean became the first fintech to receive a Financial Services Permission (FSP) from Abu Dhabi Global Market (ADGM) to offer third-party services, and was later admitted into the Saudi Central Bank's sandbox.
Lean has raised more than $100 million in funding to date, including a $67.5 million Series B round in November 2024 led by General Catalyst, its first Saudi Arabia investment. It subsequently received follow-on investment in March 2025 from Takamol Ventures.
"Open Finance is not just a regulatory update – it’s the foundation for a fully connected financial ecosystem," said Hisham Al-Falih, Lean’s CEO and co-founder. “This approval strengthens our ability to offer compliant, scalable infrastructure that meets the UAE’s ambition to become a digital finance leader.”
The UAE’s Open Finance Framework is part of the broader Digital Economy Strategy and ties into initiatives such as the UAE Centennial 2071. The goal: to improve consumer choice and financial inclusion by requiring banks to offer standardised, secure access to customer data for licensed third parties.
Clients say the infrastructure is already proving critical. Tabby CEO Hosam Arab said the fintech’s partnership with Lean has helped unlock new lending segments beyond traditional credit data. DAMAC Managing Director Amira Sajwani noted Lean’s API-based payment integration has shortened their collection cycles and improved the customer experience.
Lean is also contributing to the national AlTareq initiative, a cross-sector effort to roll out Open Finance infrastructure in partnership with banks, regulators, and fintechs. Its platform complies with ISO 27001 and SOC 2 standards, and is built to support high-frequency, low-latency use cases.
The Middle East's Open Finance market is expected to grow from $1.65 billion in 2022 to $11.7 billion by 2027, according to the Arab Monetary Fund. Lean is betting early infrastructure investment will pay off as regional regulation catches up.
