Tabby says more than 1 million people in the UAE have opened a Tabby Cash account since the product became available to all residents on September 1, a two-month adoption rate the company describes as the fastest for any product it has launched.
Tabby Cash operates under a Stored Value Facilities licence from the Central Bank of the UAE and positions itself as a fee-free alternative to a standard debit account. There are no setup, account or card fees, and the product pays cashback on everyday spending.
Since the September launch, Tabby has added several features to the product. Customers can now send money to bank accounts in more than 50 countries with no transfer fees, including to digital wallets such as GCash, JazzCash and Vodafone Cash.
Telecom, utility and transport bills can be paid through the account and split into up to 12 monthly instalments. The app also supports Zakat payments and donations to Dubai charity associations directly from a Tabby Cash balance.
When a retailer approves a refund on a Tabby purchase, funds arrive in the Tabby Cash account immediately rather than after the three to ten working days a standard card refund typically takes.
“Tabby Cash is the fastest growing product we’ve launched. A million accounts in 2 months tells us how much demand there is for an account that works the way people actually spend. Sending money home, paying a bill, getting a refund without waiting a week for it. None of that is new. Doing it without the conditions people have come to expect is,” Hosam Arab, CEO and Co-Founder of Tabby said in a statement.
Tabby serves more than 25 million customers and 70,000 brands across Saudi Arabia, the UAE and Kuwait. In September the company raised $233 million at a $6.5 billion valuation in a round led by Blue Pool Capital.
