Mashreq and Toothpick Launch UAE’s First Digital Dental Loan Platform

Mohammed Fathy

Last updated 17-04-2026

3 min

Mashreq and Toothpick launch the UAE’s first fully digital clinic-based loan solution.

Patients can secure up to AED 150,000, with funds paid directly.

Financing is embedded in the care journey, cutting the usual bank “back-and-forth”.

The move supports Mashreq’s Banking-as-a-Service push and wider embedded finance strategy.

Expansion beyond dental and aesthetic clinics is planned, pending a careful rollout.

Mashreq has teamed up with healthcare platform Toothpick to roll out what is being described as the UAE’s first fully digital loan solution designed specifically for dental and aesthetic treatments. In simple terms, patients can now secure financing directly at the clinic, without the usual back-and-forth with banks that can be, let’s face it, a bit of a faff.

The new offering, branded as Mashreq NEO Credit Loans, allows customers across Toothpick’s network of more than 1,000 clinics in the UAE to apply for financing of up to AED 150,000. The process is embedded straight into the care journey. Clinics initiate the request on Toothpick’s platform, Mashreq authenticates the customer, and a secure link is sent to complete the application. Once approved, the funds are transferred directly to the clinic.

It is the first time such a high-value, fully digital financing option has been integrated this way into the UAE’s healthcare sector. That matters. Anyone who has faced an unexpected dental bill or considered a cosmetic procedure knows the upfront cost can be the sticking point. Buy Now, Pay Later schemes often cap out at relatively modest amounts. This move goes beyond those traditional limits, opening access to treatments that might otherwise be postponed.

Ghazal Al Sakaal, Global Head of Ecosystems and Platform Banking at Mashreq, said the partnership reflects the bank’s aim to provide accessible financial solutions that meet genuine customer needs. By embedding financing directly into the healthcare journey, she explained, patients can make treatment decisions more comfortably, while clinics benefit from a trusted and seamless payment structure.

From Toothpick’s side, Co-founder and Chief Growth Officer Sary Azakir described the collaboration as setting a new standard for healthcare financing in the UAE. He noted that combining Toothpick’s clinic network with Mashreq’s digital lending capabilities is intended to expand access to care and help bridge financial challenges.

The agreement also marks another step in Mashreq’s wider Banking-as-a-Service strategy. The bank, headquartered in Dubai and operating across markets including Oman, Qatar, Egypt, Pakistan, Türkiye, India, the UK and the US, has been actively building embedded finance solutions across different sectors. Healthcare now joins that list.

I have seen many founders in the region struggle not with demand, but with affordability gaps. At Arageek, when we speak about energising startups, this is exactly the kind of practical innovation we like to spotlight, solutions that meet customers where they already are. And believe it or not, access to finance at the precise moment of need can make all the difference. It sounds simple. It rarely is.

On the flip side, I’m not a fan of debt being positioned as a quick fix for everything. Responsible lending and clear terms are critical, especially for higher-ticket medical or aesthetic procedures. That said, if executed well, embedded finance in healthcare could be a game changer in a region where digital banking adoption is accelerating fast.

For now, the focus will remain on dental and aesthetic clinics, with plans to explore other healthcare verticals in the coming months. If the rollout proves successful, we may well see similar models replicated across other parts of the region. And that, in a landscape where startups are constantly looking for ways to remove friction, feels spot on, even if it will take careful execution to ensure the experiance lives up to the promise.

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