NowPay Enters Saudi Arabia in $20 Million Tas’heel-Backed Joint Venture

The expansion is backed by a $20 million investment led by Tas’heel, the consumer finance arm of United International Holding Company, and reflects rising interest in payroll-linked financial services across the Kingdom.

Founded in 2019, NowPay has built its business around modernizing how salaries are managed and accessed. Its platform focuses on payroll automation, earned wage access, and employee financial wellness tools that give workers more flexibility over their income while helping employers streamline internal processes. Through NowAccess, the company plans to adapt these services specifically for Saudi Arabia, taking into account local regulations, workplace practices, and market expectations.

The joint venture structure gives Tas’heel a 75% stake, with NowPay holding the remaining 25%. The funding will be used to establish local teams, develop Saudi-specific product features, and support the venture’s initial rollout. NowAccess is currently in its market-entry phase, with employer partnerships and further commercial announcements expected as the launch progresses.

Saudi Arabia has increasingly become a priority market for regional fintech firms, driven by a fast-growing private sector and a broader push to digitize financial services. As businesses modernize their operations, payroll is emerging as an important entry point for financial innovation. Rather than focusing only on salary processing, newer platforms are embedding additional tools that sit directly alongside payroll, creating closer links between employment and everyday financial management.

In that context, payroll-linked services are gaining traction as both an operational upgrade for employers and a practical benefit for employees. Giving workers controlled access to earned wages or digital financial tools between pay cycles is increasingly viewed as a way to improve financial stability and workplace satisfaction, particularly in competitive labor markets.

NowPay’s decision to enter Saudi Arabia through a locally backed joint venture reflects a broader pattern among fintech companies expanding into the Kingdom. Partnering with an established local player can reduce regulatory friction, accelerate go-to-market timelines, and provide immediate access to on-the-ground expertise. This model also aligns with Saudi Arabia’s push to encourage foreign technology firms to embed themselves within the local ecosystem rather than operate at arm’s length.

The Saudi fintech market has expanded rapidly in recent years, with growing adoption of digital payments, mobile financial services, and enterprise fintech solutions. Payroll, however, has historically lagged behind other areas such as payments and consumer finance. That gap is now narrowing as companies look for integrated systems that connect HR, compensation, and financial services into a single digital workflow.

The Saudi expansion represents both a growth opportunity and a strategic test for NowPay. The Kingdom offers scale, regulatory sophistication, and a large employer base, but it is also a highly competitive and closely regulated market. The next phase will focus on execution as NowAccess moves from market entry toward broader employer adoption.

The joint venture is moving beyond its initial setup phase, with attention shifting toward customer adoption, product localization, and the pace at which NowAccess secures long-term employer relationships. Payroll data can also form the foundation for a broader range of financial services over time, making early traction especially important.

NowPay’s entry into Saudi Arabia signals continued momentum in payroll-driven fintech across the region and reinforces the Kingdom’s position as a key destination for financial technology expansion in the Middle East.