Ziina and Virtuzone Partner to Streamline UAE Entrepreneurial Payment Solutions

Mohammed Fathy

Last updated 12-03-2026

4 min

Ziina and Virtuzone link company formation with payments from day one.

Founders can accept payments instantly and manage cash flow on one platform.

Instant settlement and the Ziina Card give quick access to funds.

Digital payments boost revenue, with over 70% of UAE merchants reporting gains.

The move supports a fast-growing SME sector central to the UAE economy.

Ziina and Virtuzone have joined forces in a move aimed at making life easier for entrepreneurs setting up shop in the UAE. In simple terms, the partnership links company formation with payment infrastructure from day one, something many founders only realise they need after it becomes, well… a bit of a faff.

Under the agreement, businesses launched through Virtuzone will be able to plug directly into Ziina’s payment gateway and acceptance tools. That means merchants can accept payments online and in person, manage transactions through one unified platform, and access their funds instantly. For early-stage founders watching every dirham, that kind of liquidity is not just convenient, it can be critical.

Faisal Toukan, Co-Founder and CEO of Ziina, has pointed out that entrepreneurs prioritise speed and simplicity when starting out. Payments, he noted, play a key role from the very first day of operations. Through this partnership, founders can deploy Ziina’s solutions quickly, accept payments, and gain instant access to their funds, helping them manage cash flow with greater control.

On the other side, George Hojeige, Group CEO of Virtuzone, emphasised that setting up a company is about more than paperwork. It is about ensuring businesses are operational quickly while staying compliant and ready to scale. Integrating Ziina, he said, gives Virtuzone clients a regulated and seamless payment solution that fits the realities of modern commerce in the UAE.

And believe it or not, settlement speed can genuinely shape how a small business survives its first year. With Ziina’s instant settlement feature, merchants can use received funds straight away and even spend through the Ziina Card within the app. Suppliers to pay? Marketing bills stacking up? Immediate access to cash can be the difference between steady growth and sleepless nights.

Visa research often highlights the upside of going digital. More than 70% of UAE merchants reported increased revenue after adopting digital payments, and 68% linked business growth to accepting multiple payment methods. Ziina’s platform supports payment links, QR codes, Tap to Pay, card acceptance, and bank transfers, covering most of what today’s customers expect when they reach for their phone instead of their wallet.

This collaboration lands at a time when the UAE’s SME sector continues to expand at pace. SMEs account for over 94% of registered companies and employ 86% of the private sector workforce. By the end of 2025, the country was home to more than 1.4 million companies, according to the Ministry of Economy and Tourism. That is not small change. The country’s push to position itself as a global entrepreneurship hub, through regulatory updates and digital-first services, is clearly gathering momentum.

Ziina, founded in 2020 by Faisal Toukan, Sarah Toukan and Talal Toukan, operates as a licensed fintech under the Central Bank of the UAE. It offers instant transfers, payment links, QR code payments, Tap to Pay on iPhone and Android, and a card that works with Apple Pay and Google Pay. The company says it now serves over 260,000 businesses and consumers across the UAE, without charging initiation fees or hiding extra costs, a detail that, I reckon, matters more than fancy branding ever will.

Virtuzone, established in 2009, has supported more than 80,000 entrepreneurs. With a team of over 250 experts speaking 40 languages, it provides services ranging from trade licences and visa processing to tax, VAT and compliance support. Now part of Ascentium, which operates across 46 cities in 23 markets, Virtuzone is also expanding its international reach.

For founders reading this on Arageek and weighing up their next move, the message feels spot on: setting up a business is one thing, but being ready to trade from day one is another. Payments might not sound glamorous, but they are definately where the rubber hits the road. And in a market as competitive as the UAE, every small edge counts.

🚀 Got exciting news to share?

If you're a startup founder, VC, or PR agency with big updates—funding rounds, product launches 📢, or company milestones 🎉 — AraGeek English wants to hear from you!