BARQ

Riyadh-based fintech, licensed by the Saudi Central Bank, offering a digital wallet, cards, local and international transfers and business payment services. Founded in 2023 by Ahmed Alenazi, it raised a $329.5 million Series A in 2026.

Industry: Digital wallet and payments | Location: Riyadh, Saudi Arabia | Founded: 2023 | Total Funding: USD 330.7M

About BARQ

barq is a Riyadh-based fintech that offers account opening, money transfers, card issuance, electronic payment solutions and e-commerce services inside a single app. It operates through Buraq Financial Company, a closed joint-stock company regulated by the Saudi Central Bank (SAMA), which granted it an electronic wallet licence in January 2024. Its range has widened from accounts, cards and payments into international transfers and business-facing products.

The company was founded in 2023 by Ahmed Alenazi, who previously served as chief executive of stc pay. The app went live in late July 2024 and, according to the company, reached its first million users in 21 days. Company figures later put it above seven million users in under a year and above 10 million within 17 months, with 9.5 million cards issued and more than 940 million transactions completed at that stage. By September 2026 barq said it had passed 15 million users from more than 210 nationalities within two years, and that funds processed through the platform had exceeded SAR 440 billion. The breadth of nationalities points to a customer base that includes many of the migrant workers in Saudi Arabia, a group that has often relied on cash wages and exchange houses to send money home.

barq has also moved outside the Kingdom. It entered Pakistan by acquiring the local operations of MyTM, a digital payments and fintech company, in 2025, and its Pakistani arm has worked with partners on digital payments in that market.

In September 2026, barq closed a Series A round of USD 329.5 million (SAR 1.24 billion) at a valuation of USD 1.85 billion, making it Saudi Arabia's newest unicorn. The round included Noon Investments, Sohar International Bank and M20 Fund, and was announced during Money20/20 Middle East in Riyadh. It ranked among the largest Series A rounds in Saudi fintech, and was the bigger of two mega-rounds in the sector that month alongside Tabby's USD 233 million Series F. The previous Saudi startup to reach unicorn status was quick-commerce company Ninja, valued at USD 1.5 billion in July 2025.

The company said the capital is earmarked for strengthening operational efficiency, accelerating product development, investing in new financial and technology solutions, and expanding into additional regional and international markets; Arab Founders reported that new products and entry into markets beyond Saudi Arabia are the main priorities. Its growth so far has been built largely on its home market, and the demographic and regulatory conditions behind it do not carry across borders automatically, so the valuation prices in continued expansion rather than current performance.

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