Lean Technologies and Ziina have introduced what the companies describe as the UAE’s first One-Tap Pay by Bank experience built under the country’s Open Finance framework. The new capability lets Ziina customers connect a bank account once, then add money to their wallet through a single-tap action on subsequent occasions. Announced on June 25, the launch points to a shift from one-off account-to-account transfers toward payment journeys designed for repeated, everyday use.
A More Direct Wallet Funding Journey
The feature is built on Lean’s Deposits solution, which provides the Open Finance infrastructure behind the account connection and payment flow. After completing the initial authorization, users are not required to re-enter banking credentials or leave Ziina for a bank portal whenever they top up their wallet. By removing those recurring steps, the partners aim to make a routine financial action feel closer to the frictionless experiences users expect from consumer payment apps.
Moving Beyond Single Payments
Pay by Bank services have been available in the UAE, but their use has largely centred on individual instant transactions rather than persistent payment experiences. Lean and Ziina’s implementation shows how regulated account-to-account rails can support a relationship between a consumer, a payment platform and a connected bank account over time. The development is therefore less about creating another standalone payment method than about demonstrating how Open Finance can underpin simpler repeat interactions.
Lean’s Infrastructure Role
Founded in 2019, Lean provides financial infrastructure that enables businesses across the Middle East and North Africa to access financial data and initiate payments through one platform. The company says it has supported more than 400 businesses, processed more than $5 billion in transactions, connected over two million accounts and completed more than three million account verifications. Its work with Ziina positions its Deposits product as an enabling layer for fintechs looking to embed regulated bank connectivity into customer-facing payment products.
Ziina’s Consumer Strategy
Ziina, a UAE-licensed fintech founded in 2020 by Faisal Toukan, Sarah Toukan and Talal Toukan, offers digital payment and money-management services to consumers and businesses. Its existing product suite includes instant transfers, payment links, QR code payments, Tap to Pay on iPhone and Android, a payment card compatible with Apple Pay and Google Pay, and its Ziina Violet membership programme. Adding one-tap wallet funding extends that ecosystem by addressing a frequent in-app activity and making it more convenient for users to move money into their Ziina balance.
A Signal for the UAE Payments Market
The companies unveiled the capability at Lean’s Pay by Bank: The Default Way to Pay event in Dubai, where more than 150 representatives from banking, fintech, commerce and regulatory organisations gathered to discuss the future of account-to-account payments. Their announcement comes as the UAE’s financial-services market continues to build practical products on top of its Open Finance framework. For banks, fintechs and merchants, the test will be whether streamlined experiences such as this can encourage consumers to adopt Pay by Bank regularly rather than only in occasional transactions.
Lean and Ziina’s rollout provides an early example of how Open Finance can reshape a familiar wallet-funding process without forcing users through repeated authentication journeys. Its immediate significance lies in the design of the customer experience, combining secure initial bank linking with a simpler route for future top-ups. As similar capabilities reach more payment products, the UAE market may begin to judge Pay by Bank less as a technical alternative and more as a standard option for daily digital payments.