Fintech
How UAE’s Maly Fintech uses AI to help people save big in the GCC
Launched in 2023 by Mo Ibrahim, the startup leverages emerging technology to provide users with tools, solutions and information to help them save money.
UAE-based fintech startup Maly aims to support people become more financially competent and independent through the power of artificial intelligence. Launched in 2023 by Mo Ibrahim, the startup leverages emerging technology to provide users with tools, solutions and information that allows them to save and improve the management of their finances.
With the cost of living skyrocketing since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020, millions of people in the Middle East and around the world are struggling to save. According to a recent Deloitte survey of Generation Z and millennials, 51% of respondents said they live paycheck to paycheck.
Ibrahim wants to change the situation. A tech-savvy entrepreneur and entrepreneur, he decided to launch a financial wellness company to help people save money easily. “There are many ways to help people borrow money and spend money, but there are very few tools and techniques that help people save money,” Mo Ibrahim, co-founder of Maly, tells StartupScene. “With advanced technology and the advent of artificial intelligence, these may be the real factors that enable people to achieve a better life and live in a better way.”
Despite being a young startup, Maly is already working with 18 banks in the UAE and is looking to expand into Saudi Arabia later this year.
AUTOMATED SAVINGS
It may come as a surprise that despite paying little or no tax, many people in the GCC do not save for retirement.
According to global consultancy Mercer, nearly half of all UAE residents are delaying saving for retirement until their 40s and 50s, while 45% have no plans to ensure an adequate standard of living after retirement .
“Whether you have a higher income or a lower income, the culture of saving is far behind in our region,” says Ibrahim. “There are many reasons for this: inflation, consumerism and the presence of a lot of credit in the market, as well as in many cases the lack of awareness about financial literacy.”
To help reverse the trend, Maly provides an automated savings feature and a Visa debit card that links users’ bank accounts to the app, allowing them to save by automatically rounding up small amounts from everyday purchases. Automated saving can be done on a weekly or monthly basis, based on a person’s salary and financial goals. “We do it automatically and we also do it based on summaries, which is a very fun concept,” says Ibrahim. “It’s like a digital piggy bank. You spend using your bank card, we round up each transaction you make so you actually accumulate micro savings, and these small savings accumulate and accumulate in your Visa Maly card, which you can then use to purchase whatever you want. It’s about growing this culture of saving.”
FINANCIAL ASSISTANT AI
While there may be a lot of hype surrounding AI lately, the technology serves as the substantial core around which Maly’s platform is built.
The startup uses artificial intelligence to provide information and educational content on financial wellness, as well as to meet users’ personal financial goals. Like a financial assistant, the AI tool will learn your financial situation and habits through your Maly-issued Visa debit card, in order to better understand your financial health and recommend relevant solutions.
“So, what we do is not only provide you with facts, information and data that helps you overall understand how you can improve, but also recommend solutions by helping you create an appropriate savings plan, potentially guiding your investments among other tools and techniques such as part of the Financial Assistant.”
He adds that such products are usually designed for high-net-worth individuals, who receive tailored financial advice. But with the advent of the transformative technology of artificial intelligence, it can now be made accessible to everyone. “We want to leverage technology to provide this to everyone, to make everyone’s financial well-being a priority and help them build a healthier relationship with money,” says Ibrahim. “It’s like having a financial coach who helps you track your expenses and helps you with things like budgeting, financial planning, savings and investments.”
FUTURE OBJECTIVES
Artificial intelligence may have become a buzzword since Chat GPT launched nearly two years ago, but its potential can’t be ignored.
According to PwC, the potential impact of AI in the Middle East is expected to reach $320 billion by 2030, with the United Arab Emirates expected to see the largest impact, amounting to nearly 14% of the country’s GDP. 2030.
Despite the potential benefits of AI, there are still no formal AI regulations in the Middle East, making it difficult for some AI startups like Maly to truly grow and thrive in the region.
“They’ve just started releasing more regulations, like allowing open banking in Saudi Arabia and potentially the UAE,” Ibrahim says. “We are still in the early days of these developments, but I think this needs to be accelerated strongly to allow fintech startups, especially AI tech startups in general, to thrive and achieve what they aim for without having to go through a process very long or a very long development cycle that sometimes eludes the good we intend to bring to the market.
Despite regulatory hiccups, Maly managed to successfully raise $1.6 million in a seed funding round in May last year. Initially seeded, the startup used the funding to launch in the United Arab Emirates and begin its expansion into Saudi Arabia. He is now looking to raise funds to further grow the startup across the region.
“What we’re doing now is we’re in the middle of our seed round, our first seed round, and we’re also raising to solidify the growth of our marketplace,” he says. “We look forward to wrapping up this seed round soon so we can focus on real growth at the next level.”
