Fuse, founded by TrueLayer veterans, has raised $6.6 million in a funding round led by Northzone. Other investors include Flourish Ventures, Alter Global, and angel investors.
Fuse is a payments Fintech targeting the MENA region. The company says it is focusing on the “payments bottlenecks” firms are experiencing in the Middle East and North Africa.
Fuse explains that in the past, businesses expanding into MENA struggled with the complex regulatory and banking landscape that differs from country to country. Fuse states that it offers the region’s first Virtual IBAN technology, paired with in-house compliance systems, to allow companies to make real-time cross-border and local payments without setting up local accounts.
Fuse reports that its platform already supports brands like Deel, Airbnb, and Etsy.
Fuse is co-founded by CEO George Davis and CTO James Smith, who both worked at TrueLayer. Davis also helped scale Paymentsense and co-founded BVNK as its Chief Product Officer. Smith previously led engineering teams at TrueLayer and BVNK.
Davis commented on the funding round, stating demand is surging and money is flowing into the UAE:
“Before Fuse, infrastructure for complex financial services like Virtual IBANs simply didn’t exist in the region. This year, it’s all about scale – serving the immense demand in MENA. While our focus has been on the US-Middle East corridor, we’re now expanding into Europe and Asia, enabling faster, more efficient payments between these regions and the Gulf countries.”
