UAE's Ziina Rolls Out Tap to Pay on iPhone for In-Person Business Payments

Ziina, a Dubai-based fintech, has launched Tap to Pay on iPhone in the UAE, enabling businesses to accept contactless in-person payments directly on an iPhone without any additional hardware or payment terminal.

Using only an iPhone and the Ziina app, businesses can accept all major contactless cards, including Visa, Mastercard and American Express, as well as Apple Pay, Google Pay and other digital wallets. The service charges a transaction fee of 2.9 percent plus 1 dirham, waives fees on the first 5,000 dirhams of processing for new users, and requires only an Emirates ID to set up an account, lowering the barrier for small merchants to start accepting card payments.

"The future of payments is contactless, mobile, and incredibly simple, and we're making it accessible to everyone because we believe every business in our region deserves powerful tools without complexity," said founder and chief executive Faisal Toukan.

Founded in 2020 and backed by Y Combinator, Ziina raised a $22 million Series A in September 2024, taking total funding above $30 million, and was processing more than $300 million in annualised payments volume at the time. The Tap to Pay launch extends the company from peer-to-peer and consumer payments deeper into merchant acceptance.