New Shariah-compliant business account enables small businesses to put surplus cash to work automatically, without locking it away, as Pemo cements its position as the leading all-in-one spend management platform for the UAE’s SME economy.
Dubai — Pemo, the UAE’s leading all-in-one spend management platform, announced the launch of its very first business account, designed specifically for the country’s burgeoning small business economy. Issued by ruya and structured in line with Shariah-compliant principles, the account enables SME customers to put idle cash to work through a Wakala deposit, with an expected profit rate of up to 3.75%, no minimum balance and no lock-in period.
The account is built directly into Pemo’s existing platform, allowing small businesses to manage spend, corporate cards, payments and idle cash from a single dashboard. Pemo’s AI-driven insights help businesses understand how much cash may be available to put to work, while supporting day-to-day liquidity needs and operational flexibility.
Small businesses have long been among the last to benefit from financial innovation. While enterprise-grade platforms have offered treasury and cash management tools to large corporates for years, equivalent solutions for small businesses have often been fragmented, complex, or linked to high minimum balances. Pemo’s new business account is designed to help close that gap by giving SMEs a simpler way to operate.
“This is a big moment for Pemo, and we are extremely happy to build it in a partnership with ruya. However, it is one step, not the destination. Small businesses have been underserved for too long, made to choose between tools that each do one thing. We are building the financial operating system that brings it all together, and a Wakala Deposit where idle cash may earn an expected profit of up to 3.75% is a major part of that. It is the foundation for much more to come. We are just getting started!” said Ayham Gorani, Co-Founder and CEO of Pemo.
The account is issued by Ruya Community Islamic Bank, the Ajman-headquartered digital-first Islamic bank, licensed and regulated by the Central Bank of the UAE, bringing Shariah-compliant banking infrastructure directly into the platform that SME customers already use to manage their finances.
“At ruya, we believe ethical Islamic finance and modern technology should work together to serve the communities and businesses that are too often left behind.”
Small businesses are the backbone of the UAE economy, yet they have rarely had access to the tools larger corporates take for granted. Our partnership with Pemo gives SMEs access to a Shariah-compliant business account where their idle cash may earn an expected profit if they proceed with opening a Wakala deposit with us, and where day-to-day finances are simpler to run. This is exactly the kind of inclusive, principled innovation ruya was built to deliver,” said Christoph Koster, CEO of ruya.
Built for the segment the UAE depends on
Small businesses make up 94% of all companies operating in the UAE and employ 86% of the country’s private-sector workforce, contributing an estimated 63.5% of the UAE’s non-oil GDP. The UAE has also set an ambitious target of reaching 1 million SMEs by 2030 as part of its wider economic diversification agenda, and has introduced dedicated funding schemes, guarantee programmes and procurement quotas to support the sector’s growth.
Yet despite their importance, small businesses are typically last in line for new financial infrastructure. Pemo’s account changes that calculus for cash sitting idle; cash that, until now, has usually been sitting in accounts earning nothing, while businesses juggle separate tools for spend management, payments and banking.
By combining Pemo’s spend management capabilities with ruya’s Shari’ah-compliant banking infrastructure, the new account gives SMEs a practical way to improve visibility, preserve access to funds, and may generate expected profit on surplus cash by opening a Wakala Deposit with ruya.
Real customers, real results
The launch follows a strong period of growth for Pemo. The company has been adopted by more than 6,000 businesses across the UAE and has secured over $19 million in funding to accelerate its expansion to date.
Over the past few years, Pemo has shipped more than 200 product releases, spanning AI-powered automation, smart cards, and automated expense and invoice management, most of them built directly from customer feedback. That focus on product is reflected in a 4.8 rating on G2, pointing to strong customer satisfaction and measurable, repeatable ROI.
“Bringing spend, cards and payments into a single platform is exactly the kind of simplification a fast-growing finance team wants. That is why we signed on early with Pemo, and we are looking forward to seeing this new product in action,” said Mohammad Al Zaben, CEO, ClearGrid
Source: Tahawul Tech