UAE-based Mamo Pay, a peer-to-peer payments app has raised $1.5 million in a round led by Global Founders Capital (GFC) with participation from Global Ventures, VentureSouq, MSA Capital, Dubai Angel Investors (DAI), 500 Startups and some angel investors.

Founded by former Google employees Mohammad El Saadi, Asim Janjua, and Imad Gharazeddine, Mamo Pay enables users to transfer payments to family, friends and businesses through its app without charging any fees.

“Mamo Pay not only increases speed but removes all of the hassle associated with banking in the Mena region”, said Mohammad El Saadi, co-founder of Mamo Pay. “In our survey, we found that 87 per cent of regional respondents had challenges with money transfers and 89 per cent were unhappy with the existing solutions available to them.”

The financial technology (fintech) company worked with regulators to ensure that users could make payments and transfers using the recipients phone number or email address only, simplifying the traditional process and data that banks usually require, like IBAN numbers.

“We’re excited to see how our platform streamlines money transfers across financial services. Our vision is for Mamo Pay to simplify everything from sending money quickly, to splitting a bill at a restaurant, to speeding up payments for SMEs and entrepreneurs,” El Saadi added. 

 The region’s cash-based economy, partly caused by low-income workers who are unable to open traditional bank accounts, is another issue that the Mamo Pay team wants to overcome. 

“Low-income workers in the region often have two options: getting paid in cash, which is inefficient and potentially insecure, or relying on an exchange company to distribute their salary on their behalf, which is expensive. Mamo Pay will eliminate this problem for the region’s low-income community,” said Asma Alyamani, head of product at Mamo Pay.

Sunele Gokhale, founding partner at VentureSouq added: “In keeping in line with the UAE’s drive to continue to be a centre of innovation, we are excited about Mamo Pay’s vision of building a fintech platform that will enhance the lives of people and businesses in the Mena tegion.”

Mamo Pay is currently testing on Android in run-up to launch this year, followed by iOS and web versions.