Lean Technologies and Ziina have launched the UAE’s first live customer-initiated Open Finance payment, marking a major milestone in the country’s financial infrastructure evolution under the Central Bank of the UAE’s Open Finance framework.
The launch enables Ziina users to make instant, account-to-account bank payments directly within the Ziina app using regulated Open Finance application programming interfaces. Customers can now initiate payments straight from their bank accounts without switching channels or relying on manual transfers, offering a faster, more transparent and secure way to move money.
Through this milestone, Ziina becomes the first licensed financial institution in the UAE, operating under a Stored Value Facility authorisation, to execute live Open Finance payments initiated by customers. The experience is powered by Lean Technologies’ regulated Open Finance infrastructure, which provides secure bank connectivity, compliant payment initiation and enterprise-grade resilience. Ziina has designed and delivered the customer-facing payment flow, aligning with consumer expectations in the UAE for speed, reliability and trust.
The announcement signals the transition of Open Finance in the UAE from regulatory and technical readiness to real-world, production-grade deployment. It demonstrates that regulated application programming interface connectivity can support reliable payment flows at scale. The Central Bank’s Open Finance Regulation, alongside Nebras, the national Open Finance platform, and Al Tareq, the Central Bank’s application programming interface framework, together establish the foundation for secure, consent-based connectivity, enabling innovation, competition and greater customer choice across the financial ecosystem.
Faisal Toukan, Co-founder and Chief Executive Officer of Ziina, said:
“Delivering the UAE’s first customer-initiated Open Finance payment marks an important step for the country’s financial ecosystem. Regulated, API-driven payments, now operating at production scale, are beginning to influence expectations around speed, transparency and trust. Enabling customers to complete a bank payment directly inside the Ziina app through Open Finance reflects how forward-thinking policy can shape everyday financial behaviour. We are proud to partner with Lean Technologies to bring the vision to life.”
Hisham Al-Falih, Chief Executive Officer of Lean Technologies, commented:
“Seeing Open Finance payments live in the UAE is a meaningful moment for the market. This milestone reflects the Central Bank’s vision for modern, secure financial infrastructure and shows what becomes possible when strong connectivity meets thoughtful product execution. Ziina has been an exceptional partner, and we are proud to enable the country’s first live Open Finance payment experience.”
Lean Technologies has played a foundational role in building Open Finance infrastructure across the UAE, working closely with regulators, banks and fintechs to enable secure and scalable payment and data connectivity aligned with the Central Bank’s Financial Infrastructure Transformation programme. Its platform has been tested across production-grade use cases and is designed to support national-scale adoption.
Ziina’s role in this launch builds on its broader contribution to the UAE payments landscape. The company offers a unified payments platform used by consumers and small and medium-sized enterprises, combining account transfers, card acceptance, invoicing and everyday payment experiences in a single interface. By introducing the UAE’s first customer-initiated Open Finance payment, Ziina is extending this foundation and demonstrating how regulated connectivity can translate into simple, reliable payment experiences in a rapidly digitising economy.
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