Tabby has received a consumer finance licence and an SME finance licence from the Saudi Central Bank (SAMA), unlocking a significant expansion of what the buy-now-pay-later platform can offer in its largest market.
For consumers, the licences allow Tabby to move beyond its existing four-instalment, interest-free product and offer longer payment plans on purchases above SAR 2,000, with limits of up to SAR 50,000. Longer plans are already live at retailers including Noon, Fitness Time, IKEA, Almanea, Almosafer, Almatar, and flynas. The rollout is currently limited to an initial group of customers and will extend to all eligible users over the coming weeks.
The plans are structured on a Murabaha model, which means the cost is fixed upfront and does not grow over time. There is no compounding and no late fees. Tabby’s standard four-payment, zero-fee product remains available alongside the new options.
The SME licence is a separate expansion: it allows Tabby to extend working capital financing to retailers on its platform, giving merchants access to funding to grow their businesses.
The licences build on an existing regulatory track record in Saudi Arabia. Tabby graduated from SAMA’s regulatory sandbox and received its BNPL licence in 2025. A consumer finance licence is granted only to companies that meet SAMA’s standards for compliance, security, and customer protection.
“Tabby already gives millions of people flexibility and control over their money. Now we can extend that to the bigger purchases in life, paying for a course, furnishing a home, booking a holiday. It answers clear demand from our customers and puts the same control in their hands,” Hosam Arab, CEO and Co-Founder of Tabby said in a statement.
The new category reach matters here. Education, travel, used cars, and short-term rentals involve sums well above everyday retail, and the licences let sellers in those categories integrate Tabby at checkout. Tabby currently serves more than 25 million registered users and over 65,000 businesses across the GCC.
