Saudi Vrtx Raises $3.6 Mn in to Build Embedded Finance Platform

Vrtx to Simplify Access to Financial Services

Vrtx is building infrastructure that enables businesses to offer financial services, including digital wallets, payouts, card issuance, money transfers, and transaction processing. Its platform is designed to provide these capabilities as building blocks that companies can integrate according to their business requirements.

The startup aims to reduce the technical and operational challenges involved in launching financial products. Its infrastructure combines technology and operational tools to help businesses develop and manage financial services with greater efficiency.

Startup Receives Regulatory Approval from SAMA

Vrtx has received In-Principle Approval (IPA) from the Saudi Central Bank (SAMA) for an Electronic Money Institution (EMI) licence. This marks an important step towards offering its services within Saudi Arabia's financial regulatory framework.

The approval is intended to support the startup's progress towards providing embedded financial services in the kingdom. Its platform is also designed to help businesses manage balances, transactions, and financial rules through a secure testing environment and guided workflows.

Founders Bring Experience from Saudi Fintech Sector

Mishal Bin Slimah and Omar Shaaban previously worked together at Tweeq, an early digital financial platform in Saudi Arabia that was acquired by Tabby. Their experience in building financial products helped them identify the technical, operational, compliance, and security challenges businesses face when launching financial services.

Mishal Bin Slimah, Co-Founder and CEO of Vrtx, said the company's vision is to create a hub of fintech capabilities that businesses can select and build upon based on their product requirements.

With its latest funding, Vrtx aims to develop its infrastructure and make it easier for businesses to integrate financial capabilities into their products. Its progress will depend on its ability to expand its platform and bring its services to market within the applicable regulatory requirements.

Leadership Statement

“Building fintech products today is hard. Companies with a clear idea and real demand spend years assembling core infrastructure, operations and security before they serve a single customer. Our goal is to make fintech capability a standard building block for any business, with Vrtx as the destination for the fintech capability they need,” Mishal Bin Slimah said.

SC Ventures by Standard Chartered Country Lead – Saudi Arabia, Gabriel Heredia, commented: “This investment reflects our conviction in the growth of embedded finance in Saudi Arabia and the increasing role that financial infrastructure will play in enabling businesses across the Kingdom. Vrtx combines strong market understanding with the technology and capabilities needed to address this opportunity. We are pleased to support the team as they scale their platform and contribute to the continued development of the Kingdom’s fintech ecosystem.” 

Youcef Oudjidane, Co-Founder and Managing Partner, BYLD, commented: “Embedded finance has the potential to become an important layer of economic infrastructure, allowing financial services to be integrated into the businesses people use every day. But for that potential to be realised at scale, innovation and regulation need to develop hand in hand. What gave us conviction in Mishal was that he understood this from the outset and built Vrtx with regulatory compliance at its core.”

About Vrtx

Vrtx is a Riyadh-based fintech startup founded in 2025 by Mishal Bin Slimah and Omar Shaaban. The company is developing an embedded finance platform that enables businesses to integrate digital wallets, payouts, card issuance, transfers, and transaction processing into their products. Vrtx aims to simplify the development of financial services by providing the infrastructure and operational capabilities businesses need to launch financial products.

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