Open Finance is live in the UAE
Together with Ziina, we’ve taken payments live with the first real, customer-initiated Open Finance payment in the UAE. That means real users, real money, and a real experience, not a proof, a test, or a concept.
And that shift matters.
Why this moment is different
Over the past few years we’ve worked closely with regulators, banks, and merchants to navigate and support establishing the Open Finance framework in the UAE. We’ve seen the UAE leapfrog global pioneers like the UK by establishing new and innovative payment methods and data opportunities at the onset of Open Finance.
Today, we are proud to work with the team at Ziina and Nebras to bring Open Finance payments live to end users. Following the successful graduation of FAB and CBD from testing in the past month, Ziina users can now initiate Open Finance payments directly within the app.
Behind the scenes, Lean’s infrastructure handles secure connectivity, payment initiation, and compliance. On the surface, it just works, which is exactly how financial infrastructure should feel.
This is the point where Open Finance stops being an idea and starts becoming part of everyday use.
Built together
What I’m most proud of is how it came together.
This wasn’t a case of plugging in an API and calling it a day. It was months of close collaboration between the Lean and Ziina teams, working through regulatory requirements, bank connectivity, reliability, and user experience to make sure this worked in the real world. That meant designing for edge cases, failure modes, and scale from day one, not just happy paths.
Ziina brought a clear product vision and a deep understanding of what their users expect. We brought the infrastructure to make Open Finance payments possible in a regulated, scalable way. The result is an experience that feels natural to use, even though there’s a lot happening under the hood.
This is the part that matters most to me as a product leader: when something complex disappears behind a simple experience.
A signal of what’s coming next
This launch is an important milestone, but it’s not the end goal.
It’s a signal that the UAE’s Open Finance ecosystem is ready to move from preparation to adoption. That merchants can confidently launch real payment experiences. And that infrastructure, regulation, and product teams can move forward together.
A big part of that credit goes to the Central Bank of the UAE. Clear rules and a forward-looking framework make it possible to build responsibly and to ship with confidence. This launch is a strong example of what that kind of regulatory clarity enables.
We’re just getting started
For us at Lean, seeing Open Finance payments live in a consumer-facing product is one of those moments that makes years of foundational work feel tangible. It’s also a reminder of why we focus so much on getting the infrastructure right: when it’s done well, it fades into the background.
We’re proud to be building alongside partners like Ziina and excited about what's next as Open Finance continues to evolve in the UAE. More real-world experiences, more adoption, and more proof that Open Finance can deliver meaningful value when it’s done right.
Over the next few weeks and months, as more banks mature out of testing, we aim to avail this experience for more merchants and more end users, supercharging a domestic, sovereign payment scheme and enabling the ecosystem to flourish.
Open Finance is now live, and this is just the beginning.
