Tamara
A Saudi platform for interest-free, Sharia-compliant installments and pay later, for shoppers and merchants in the Gulf.
Tamara is a Saudi fintech founded in Riyadh in 2020. It offers buy now, pay later, reached a $1 billion valuation in December 2023, and serves more than 25 million customers according to the company.
What does Tamara do?
Abdulmajeed Alsukhan, Turki Bin Zarah and Abdulmohsen Albabtain founded Tamara in Riyadh in September 2020, inspired by the grocery ledger that lets a customer pay at the end of the month. It lets shoppers split purchases into interest-free payments, and earns mainly from merchant fees. It received a consumer finance license from the Saudi Central Bank in 2025, and operates in Saudi Arabia, the UAE, Kuwait and Bahrain.
Products
Split purchases into up to four interest-free payments, Sharia-compliant.
Consumer finance for longer plans, after receiving a consumer finance license from SAMA in 2025.
Merchant integration through e-commerce plugins and POS in stores.
Key features
- Interest-free and Sharia-compliant installments
- Scrapped late fees in December 2023
- Ready-made plugins for platforms such as Salla, Zid and Shopify
- Works in online stores and at POS
- Licensed by the Saudi Central Bank for consumer finance and pay later
- Sanabil Investments, owned by the Public Investment Fund (PIF), led the Series B and co-led the Series C with SNB Capital
- Described as the first Saudi fintech startup unicorn. It was preceded by stc pay (a subsidiary of stc Group, not a startup) and Tabby, with valuations above $1 billion
- Last announced valuation was $1 billion (December 2023), and no new equity round has been announced since
- No IPO has been announced so far
The documentary
Funding rounds
| Round | Date | Amount | Lead | Investors | Source |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Asset-backed facility (Debt financing) | September 2025 | $2.4B | Goldman Sachs, Citi, Apollo | Goldman Sachs, Citi, Apollo | Source |
| Series CValued at $1B | December 2023 | $340M | SNB Capital, Sanabil Investments | SNB Capital, Sanabil Investments, Shorooq Partners, Pinnacle Capital, Impulse, Coatue, Endeavor Catalyst, Checkout.com | Source |
| Debt facility upsize (Debt financing) | November 2023 | $400M | Goldman Sachs | Goldman Sachs, Shorooq Partners | Source |
| Debt facility (Debt financing) | March 2023 | $150M | Goldman Sachs | Goldman Sachs | Source |
| Series B | August 2022 | $100M | Sanabil Investments | Sanabil Investments, Coatue, Shorooq Partners, Endeavor Catalyst, Checkout.com | Source |
| Series A (equity and debt) (Equity and debt) | April 2021 | $110M | Checkout.com | Checkout.com | Source |
| Seed | January 2021 | $6M | Impact46 | Impact46, Vision Ventures, Wealth Well, Seedra Ventures, Khwarizmi Ventures, Hala Ventures, Nama Ventures | Source |
Key investors
Founders
Common questions about Tamara
When was Tamara founded?
It was founded in Riyadh in September 2020.
Who founded Tamara?
Abdulmajeed Alsukhan (CEO), Turki Bin Zarah and Abdulmohsen Albabtain.
When did Tamara become a unicorn?
In December 2023, with a $340 million Series C led by SNB Capital and Sanabil at a $1 billion valuation.
Is Tamara profitable?
The Saudi arm posted its first full-year profit in 2025, a net $51.5 million, according to its audited statements.