Lean Technologies is scaling its Pay by Bank offering in the UAE following the activation of the country’s Open Finance framework, marking a significant step in the evolution of account-to-account payments across the region. The move reflects a broader shift in the payments landscape, where regulated infrastructure is enabling faster, lower-cost alternatives to traditional card-based systems.
Pay by Bank Moves Into a Regulated Phase
The rollout of Open Finance in the UAE introduces regulated payment initiation, allowing businesses to securely trigger payments directly from bank accounts. Lean’s expansion builds on this development by transforming its existing account-to-account capabilities into a more structured Pay by Bank suite.
The unified offering supports a range of payment use cases including deposits, collections, checkout, and subscription flows. By aligning these capabilities with regulated infrastructure, Lean is positioning Pay by Bank as a scalable and long-term component of the UAE’s digital payments ecosystem.
Building on Proven A2A Scale
Lean has been enabling account-to-account payments in the UAE since 2022, processing billions in total transaction volume across a growing network of enterprise clients. This includes companies such as e&, Careem, DAMAC, and OKX, demonstrating the model’s ability to operate at scale in real-world environments.
The company says its platform has already helped businesses save more than $100 million in card-related fees, highlighting the economic advantage of shifting toward A2A payment models.
By consolidating multiple payment functions into a single Pay by Bank suite, Lean is also improving consistency and visibility for businesses managing digital transactions.
Positioning A2A as a Mainstream Payment Method
The expansion signals a move to position account-to-account payments alongside traditional card networks, rather than as a niche alternative. With Open Finance providing the regulatory foundation, Pay by Bank is increasingly being framed as a core payment option within digital commerce.
“By bringing these capabilities together under Pay by Bank, Lean reinforces account-to-account payments as a visible and scalable payment method within digital commerce, expanding payment choice across the UAE market. When we began enabling account-to-account payments in the UAE, our conviction was that they would become a structural component of the country’s digital economy. Over the past 4 years, we have demonstrated that this model works at scale, processing billions in transaction volume across leading enterprises and embedding these payments into everyday digital journeys,” said Tewfik Cassis, CPO at Lean Technologies.
Open Finance Accelerates the Transition
The introduction of regulated payment initiation under the UAE’s Open Finance framework marks a turning point for the ecosystem. It provides a standardized, secure foundation for A2A payments, enabling broader adoption across industries.
“The operationalization of regulated payment initiation under the UAE’s Open Finance framework represents the next phase of that progression. Pay by Bank extends a proven commercial capability onto nationally standardized infrastructure, reinforcing account-to-account payments as a core option within the payments landscape. This milestone reflects both the maturity of the underlying technology and the speed with which the UAE continues to translate regulatory frameworks into deployable financial infrastructure,” Cassis added.
The UAE’s structured approach to Open Finance is creating a clear pathway from policy to implementation, helping businesses adopt new payment models with greater confidence.
Expanding Payment Choice in a Digital-First Economy
As one of the most digitally connected economies globally, the UAE is well positioned to accelerate the adoption of Pay by Bank across sectors including e-commerce, financial services, and platform-based businesses.
By expanding its capabilities on regulated rails, Lean is contributing to a broader shift away from legacy card-based systems toward more efficient, account-driven payment models.
About Lean Technologies
Lean Technologies is the leading financial infrastructure provider in the MENA region, enabling businesses to access financial data and initiate payments instantly. Since its founding in 2019, Lean has supported over 400 companies, processed more than $4 billion in transaction volume, connected over 2 million accounts, and verified more than 3 million accounts.
Learn more: www.leantech.me
What this means for the industry
- Pay by Bank is moving from early adoption to regulated, scalable deployment in the UAE
- Open Finance is enabling secure payment initiation and accelerating A2A adoption
- Businesses can reduce costs significantly by shifting away from card-based payments
- Enterprise adoption shows A2A payments can operate reliably at scale
- Payment choice is expanding, with A2A emerging alongside cards as a core option
- The UAE is positioning itself as a leading market for Open Finance-driven payments innovation
