Tabby raises $233M at $6.5B valuation, topping Klarna as it moves beyond buy now, pay later

Tabby, the buy now, pay later provider that operates across Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates, said on September 14, 2026 that it has raised $233 million in a new equity round led by existing backer Blue Pool Capital, a financing that values the company at $6.5 billion after the money. The round also drew participation from current shareholders HSG, Wellington Management and Arbor Ventures, and it caps a steep climb for a business that began life as a button at an online checkout.

The company, founded in 2019 and led by chief executive and co-founder Hosam Arab, became the first fintech unicorn in the Middle East and North Africa region in 2023, when it was valued at more than $1.5 billion. In the roughly three years since, its price tag has more than quadrupled, moving from $3.3 billion after a $160 million Series E round in February 2025 to $4.5 billion in a secondary share sale in October 2025, and now to $6.5 billion. Tabby says the new valuation also lifts it past Klarna, the Swedish instalment payments pioneer that has long been the sector's global reference point.

What Tabby sells has changed along with its price. The company still lets shoppers split purchases into instalments, but it now describes itself as a financial services provider spanning credit, payments, accounts, cards and money management. In Saudi Arabia it holds consumer and SME finance licences from the Saudi Central Bank, known as SAMA, and it has acquired Tweeq, a SAMA-licensed digital wallet, adding accounts, cards and transfers to its stack. In the UAE it holds a Stored Value Facilities licence from the Central Bank of the UAE, the regulatory footing for Tabby Cash.

Tabby Cash is described as a fee-free alternative to a debit account, with no account or card fees, cashback on card spending and support for both domestic and international transfers. The direction of travel is clear: the company wants to hold more of its customers' financial lives rather than only financing the moment of checkout.

Key Facts

FinTech Global reported on September 14, 2026 that the round was led by Blue Pool Capital with participation from HSG, Wellington Management and Arbor Ventures, valuing Tabby at $6.5 billion. The $233 million injection is earmarked for Tabby's push beyond buy now, pay later into a wider suite of credit and money management products across its two core markets.

Crypto Briefing reported on September 14, 2026 that Blue Pool Capital is the Hong Kong investment vehicle that manages money for Alibaba co-founder Joseph Tsai. Business Recorder, carrying Reuters reporting, noted on September 14, 2026 that the same vehicle oversees the assets of Alibaba Group Holding chairman Joseph Tsai. The backers here are therefore not new money chasing a story but existing shareholders deepening a position they already hold.

The operating numbers behind the valuation are substantial. Tabby says it has been profitable since 2023, a distinction that sets it apart from many fintech peers globally, and it now processes more than $18 billion in annualised transaction volume. That volume runs across roughly 25 million registered users and 70,000 partner businesses, a merchant list that includes Amazon and Shein.

TechBreak reported on September 14, 2026 that the deal remains subject to regulatory approvals, including clearance from SAMA. The same report noted that the round includes a liquidity option for employees, with Tabby having facilitated more than $100 million in share sales through employee tenders since 2023. In the UAE, more than 150,000 people were already using Tabby Cash in July 2026, ahead of a wider rollout to residents over 18, and the launch offer gives cardholders 3 percent cashback until November 1, 2026, with the standard rate depending on the customer's plan and spending category.

Analysis

What this really means is that the buy now, pay later label has stopped describing what Tabby actually is. The company now holds consumer and SME finance licences in Saudi Arabia, a Stored Value Facilities licence in the UAE and a licensed digital wallet in Tweeq. Each licence is a permission to earn revenue in a different way: lending to small businesses, extending longer-term credit to individuals, issuing prepaid cards and holding customer balances for transfers. A checkout button is a single, thin revenue line. A licensed lending and money management platform is several.

The valuation math reinforces the point. Tabby went from more than $1.5 billion in 2023 to $3.3 billion after its February 2025 Series E, then to $4.5 billion in the October 2025 secondary sale, and now to $6.5 billion. That is a compounding of confidence that would be hard to justify on instalment financing alone, particularly in a region where several competitors offer similar checkout credit. Investors are paying for the licence stack and the customer relationship, not merely for the payment plan.

The bigger picture here is that Gulf regulators have become active architects of consumer finance. SAMA's decision to grant consumer and SME finance licences, and the Central Bank of the UAE's Stored Value Facilities licence, gave a private company the legal room to look like a bank without calling itself one. Tabby's expansion is not purely a commercial choice; it is the product of a licensing regime that rewards fintechs able to meet capital and compliance expectations. That cuts both ways. A company that depends on licences also depends on the regulators who grant them, and completion of this very round still hinges on SAMA's sign-off.

Profitability since 2023 is the quiet advantage in this story. Many global fintechs scaled transaction volume while burning cash, and several later retrenched when funding conditions tightened. Tabby's ability to combine more than $18 billion in annualised volume with a profitable operating posture gives it a different set of options: it can fund growth internally, it can raise on its own terms, and it can hand employees liquidity without a listing. More than $100 million in share sales through tenders since 2023 is a signal that staff have already been able to convert paper into cash.

Why It Matters

The round matters first as a marker of regional ambition. A fintech founded in 2019 in Saudi Arabia now carries a $6.5 billion valuation and is being compared with Klarna, the company that defined the instalment payments category globally. For a sector that only recently produced its first unicorn in the region, that is a fast change in standing, and it shifts the centre of gravity for consumer credit innovation toward the Gulf.

It matters second because of what the money is for. Tabby has said it will use the proceeds to expand credit and money-management services, including consumer and SME lending, accounts, cards and transfers. Every one of those products sits closer to the core of a traditional bank's franchise than instalment financing does. If Tabby executes, it will compete not only with other buy now, pay later providers but with incumbent banks in two of the region's largest economies.

It matters third for employees and for the wider funding market. The liquidity option inside the round, following more than $100 million in employee share tenders since 2023, shows a maturing private market in which staff can realise value before an initial public offering. That can help Gulf fintechs recruit talent against global competitors that offer similar liquidity.

Next Up

The immediate next step is regulatory. Completion of the round remains subject to approvals including clearance from SAMA, so the headline number is not yet fully banked. Alongside that, Tabby is pursuing additional consumer and SME finance licences in Saudi Arabia and a Stored Value Facilities licence in the UAE. Each successful application opens another revenue stream, whether that means lending to small businesses, issuing prepaid cards or holding customer deposits.

Further out, Tabby has signalled ambitions for an eventual stock market listing, having said in 2025 that it was preparing for a public offering. The Tabby Cash rollout beyond its early UAE base, where more than 150,000 people were already using the product in July 2026, will be the clearest test of whether a checkout company can become a full service money platform.