Sav’s entire card portfolio has become exclusively powered by Visa, after the Dubai-based consumer fintech signed a five-year, multimillion-dollar deal making Visa its sole card network across the UAE and Saudi Arabia.
The integration gives Sav users global acceptance across Visa’s merchant network, access to Visa’s Benefits Program, and cashback on domestic and international spending, the companies said. Sav’s existing card already carries 5% cashback, instant top-ups from linked bank accounts, real-time freeze and unfreeze controls, and a monthly spending cap of AED 100,000, which also identifies NymCard as the card’s issuer, operating under a Visa licence.
Purvi Munot, co-founder and CEO of Sav, said the company plans to introduce a credit card, pending regulatory approval. Sav already holds an , granted in August 2024, covering arranging money services and advising on and arranging deals in credit. That is the regulatory groundwork behind the credit card plan, though a separate lending approval has not been disclosed as granted.
Sav was founded in Dubai in 2022 by Munot and Mithil Ajmera, and has been backed by Sanabil, 500 Startups’ Saudi Arabia programme, the Mohammed Bin Rashid Innovation Fund and the UAE Ministry of Finance.
Munot said: “Through our partnership with Visa, we are combining global acceptance with meaningful everyday rewards, while continuing to build an intelligent financial platform that helps users spend, save and grow their wealth more effectively.”
Salima Gutieva, Vice President and Country Manager for Visa in the UAE, said: “Consumers across the region are increasingly seeking secure, seamless and digitally enabled payment experiences. By combining Visa’s global network, innovation capabilities and trusted security with Sav’s customer-centric approach, we look forward to supporting the next phase of growth.”
Also, read Revolut Wins VARA Approval to Complete Full UAE Crypto and Payments Licence Stack
Mithil Ajmera, Sav’s co-founder, said: “Everyday spending is where consumers build their deepest financial relationships, and this partnership puts Sav at the centre of that relationship across the UAE and Saudi Arabia. With Visa’s distribution and infrastructure behind our entire card program, and credit and multi-currency cards ahead, we have the foundation to build a global payments business from the UAE.”
UAE consumers have seen a competing digital-banking brand fail before: YAP, the fourth digital bank to launch in the UAE, suspended operations in 2024 after funding challenges, with customer balances migrated to RAKBANK. A five-year exclusive network deal is one way a smaller fintech can try to lock in distribution and avoid the same fate, though it also commits Sav to a single card network for half a decade.
The deal’s financial terms have not been disclosed beyond the “multimillion-dollar” description in Sav and Visa’s own statements. Sav has not published user numbers, transaction volumes or revenue figures, and the credit card and multicurrency card products central to Ajmera’s growth pitch remain subject to regulatory approval that has not yet been granted.
