The Middle East's fintech boom is real, but it is mostly serving people who already have bank accounts. That is the blind spot industry leaders highlighted to Fast Company Middle East this week: while the UAE and Gulf states pour money into AI-driven banking and digital wallets, account ownership in Egypt, Jordan and Lebanon remains below half of adults. Closing that gap, they argue, will depend less on disrupting banks and more on partnering with them, and on regulators agreeing common rules.
The Middle East fintech blind spot, in brief:
- The gap: 43% of adults in Egypt, 46% in Jordan and 23% in Lebanon had an account in 2024, according to the World Bank's Global Findex, compared with about 86% in the UAE in 2021.
- The criticism: Botim CEO Tariq Bin Hendi says "people that are overbanked are becoming even more overbanked".
- The AI push: Emirates NBD has more than 2,000 people embedding AI across the bank.
- The policy response: the UAE central bank's National Financial Inclusion Strategy 2026 to 2030.
What Is the Blind Spot?
In a report by Fast Company Middle East, executives from Botim, Emirates NBD and Ripple described a fintech industry that is growing quickly but concentrating on customers who are already well served.
Dr Tariq Bin Hendi, CEO of the UAE super-app Botim, put it bluntly: "people that are overbanked are becoming even more overbanked". New apps compete for the same salaried, smartphone-using customers in Dubai and Riyadh, while migrant workers, informal workers and people in lower-income countries in the region remain outside the formal financial system.
The Numbers Behind the Gap
| Country | Adults with an account | Year |
|---|---|---|
| United Arab Emirates | About 86% | 2021 (latest comparable) |
| Jordan | 46% | 2024 |
| Egypt | 43% | 2024 |
| Lebanon | 23% | 2024 |
Figures are from the World Bank's Global Findex Database 2025, as cited by Fast Company Middle East. Lebanon's figure reflects years of banking crisis, when depositors lost access to their savings.
AI Efficiency Is Not the Same as Access
Much of the region's fintech investment is going into artificial intelligence. Botim says AI now handles more than 70% of its customer service. At Emirates NBD, which operates in 13 countries, Group Chief Digital and Information Officer Miguel Rio-Tinto said more than 2,000 people are working on embedding AI across the bank, and predicted: "Banking is going to change more in the next five years because of AI than what it changed in the last 30 years."
AI can cut costs and speed up service, which in theory makes it cheaper to serve low-income customers. But cheaper service does not by itself bring unbanked people in. Many lack the documents, credit history or smartphones that digital onboarding assumes.
Partnership, Not Disruption
Bin Hendi was critical of fintechs that announce "I'm going to displace the incumbents". His argument is that banks already hold the licences, balance sheets and trust that fintechs lack, so the fastest route to scale is to partner with them. That view reflects a wider shift in the industry, as funding has become harder to raise and regulators have tightened rules for non-bank lenders and payment firms.
Fragmented Rules Hold Back Regional Growth
Reece Merrick, Ripple's managing director for the Middle East and Africa, pointed to inconsistent regulation across the region as a barrier, according to the report. In practice, a fintech licensed in one country can face a largely separate approval process to operate in another, such as Saudi Arabia, Bahrain or Egypt. He also pointed to stablecoins as one way to make cross-border payments cheaper, though rules for them also differ widely between countries.
Remittances illustrate the stakes. The Gulf hosts millions of migrant workers who send money home, and lower fees on those transfers would leave more money with families in South Asia and Africa.
What Governments Are Doing
The Central Bank of the UAE launched its National Financial Inclusion Strategy 2026 to 2030 in November 2025, with 12 initiatives developed alongside the World Bank, the OECD, the Arab Monetary Fund and more than 70 national stakeholders, according to Fast Company Middle East. Measures like digital ID, simplified accounts and low-cost wallets for migrant workers are the kind of steps that reach people the market has missed.
Why It Matters for Investors and Businesses
- The next growth market is the underserved. Gulf fintechs competing for the same banked customers face shrinking returns.
- Partnerships are the business model. Bank-fintech tie-ups are likely to outpace standalone challengers.
- Regulatory harmony is a catalyst. Any move toward common licensing in the Gulf would favour firms already operating in several markets.
Cross-border payments in the region are also drawing scrutiny for other reasons, as our report on Russian payments company A7's push into India shows. For small businesses, see how fintech is changing cash flow management.
FAQs
What is the Middle East fintech blind spot?
Fintech growth is concentrated on customers who already have bank accounts, while large shares of adults in countries such as Egypt, Jordan and Lebanon remain unbanked.
How many adults in Egypt have a bank account?
About 43% in 2024, according to the World Bank's Global Findex.
What is the UAE National Financial Inclusion Strategy?
A 2026 to 2030 plan from the Central Bank of the UAE with 12 initiatives to widen access to financial services.
Checked on November 11, 2026, against Fast Company Middle East and the World Bank's Global Findex.