barq

Fintech · Payments

Funding

Saudi fintech barq raises $329.5M Series A, hits $1.85B valuation

The two-year-old payments app built its scale by digitizing remittances for millions of migrant workers who sat outside Saudi Arabia's formal banking system.

• Barq closed a $329.5 million Series A at a $1.85 billion valuation, led by Noon Investments, Sohar International Bank and M20 Fund.
• Founded in 2023 by CEO Ahmed Alenazi, former head of stc pay, barq is a Riyadh-based, SAMA-licensed digital payments and money-transfer app.
• Barq has surpassed 15 million users across more than 210 nationalities and processed over SAR440 billion ($117.3 billion) in transactions within two years of launch.
• Series A rounds of this size are uncommon in regional fintech; proceeds will fund product development, operational efficiency and expansion into new regional and international markets.
• Barq has already pushed beyond Saudi Arabia by acquiring Pakistani fintech MyTM and partnering with Alipay+ to enable cross-border QR payments in more than 220 markets.
• Barq's climb to a $1.85B valuation in roughly two years shows how quickly a licensed digital wallet can scale by removing friction from remittances for Saudi Arabia's large migrant workforce, a segment long underserved by traditional banks.