Jeel
Jeel is the digital innovation subsidiary of Riyad Bank, providing API marketplaces, a SAMA-aligned fintech sandbox, and sector-specific digital platforms to banks, fintechs, and enterprises across Saudi Arabia and the GCC.
- Company typePrivate
- Founded-
- HeadquartersRiyadh, Saudi Arabia
- Headcount101–250
- GTM typeB2B
- OfferingSoftware
What Jeel does
Jeel is a wholly-owned digital innovation subsidiary of Riyad Bank, one of Saudi Arabia's largest lenders with over $129 billion in assets. Headquartered in Riyadh with 51-100 employees, Jeel operates a platform-plus-services model that combines cloud-native, API-first software products with professional and managed services for financial institutions, fintechs, and non-financial enterprises across Saudi Arabia and the GCC. Its core products include the WSL API Marketplace (a banking API marketplace for fintechs), the Jeel Sandbox (one of the Kingdom's first supervised Sandbox-as-a-Service environments, built on Mambu's composable banking architecture and hosted on Google Cloud, evolving into Banking-as-a-Service, Cards-as-a-Service, and Wallet-as-a-Service), and sector-specific platforms such as Home Buying Ecosystem, MSME Financial Hub, Smart Banking for Youth, Edara, Awan Finance, and Corporate RM Workbench. Supporting service lines span Banking Solutions, Digital Transformation & Managed Services, Market Entry Support, and Innovation Services incorporating AI/ML and emerging technologies.
Revenue is generated through a mix of subscription/recurring fees on digital banking platforms, managed services contracts for IT and cloud modernization, and professional services engagements covering regulatory compliance, market entry advisory, and AI/ML-driven innovation work. Jeel distributes primarily through direct enterprise sales, leveraging Riyad Bank's distribution network as a channel, supplemented by technology partner ecosystems (Mambu, Google Cloud, Ripple, Mastercard, Synpulse, zypl.ai, audax) and a self-service Sandbox platform at sandbox.jeel.net. The customer base spans banking and financial services (primary), with active expansion into real estate, aviation, and telecommunications verticals. All offerings are positioned in alignment with Saudi Vision 2030 and SAMA regulatory frameworks, reinforcing Jeel's positioning as both a regulated-bank innovation arm and an external-facing fintech infrastructure provider.
Jeel firmographics
Firmographics- Name
- Jeel
- Legal name
- Jeel
- Website
- https://jeel.net
- Company type
- Private
- Operating status
- Operating
- Headcount range
- 101–250 employees
- Short description
- Jeel is the digital innovation subsidiary of Riyad Bank, providing API marketplaces, a SAMA-aligned fintech sandbox, and sector-specific digital platforms to banks, fintechs, and enterprises across Saudi Arabia and the GCC.
- Ownership category
- akta.pro rank
Jeel industry classification
Industry- Product category
- Digital Banking Platforms
- NAICS
- Custom Computer Programming Services (541511), Computing Infrastructure Providers, Data Processing, Web Hosting, and Related Services (5182)
- SIC
- Finance Services (6199), Services-Computer Programming Services (7371)
- akta.pro primary industry
- SME Banking Suite (Business Accounts, Invoicing, Payroll Integrations) (FSAGAAAI)
- akta.pro secondary industry
- Institutional API Connectivity, OMS/EMS & FIX Gateways (FSADAJAJ)
Keywords
Where Jeel is headquartered
LocationHeadquarters
- HQ city
- Riyadh
- HQ country
- Saudi Arabia
- HQ region
- Middle East
Offices1 record
Markets served
Jeel business model
Business model- GTM type
- B2B
- Offering type
- Software
- Cost components
- Technology or R&D, Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Infrastructure
Revenue model
- Digital Banking Solutions: Revenue generated from providing advanced digital banking solutions to financial institutions and businesses, including operational efficiency, regulatory compliance, and customer engagement platforms. Services are tailored to market needs and delivered as end-to-end digital platforms.
- Digital Transformation & Managed Services: Revenue from IT infrastructure modernization, software application optimization, cloud-based solutions deployment, and ongoing managed services that help businesses improve performance, enhance security, and scale efficiently.
- Market Entry Support: Revenue from providing regulatory compliance services, financial policy guidance, and risk management frameworks to help businesses expand into the Saudi and GCC markets.
- Innovation Services: Revenue from AI/ML integration, emerging technology implementation, UX/UI design prototyping, and strategic technology partnerships.
Go-to-market motion1 record
Distribution channels4 records
Marketing channels7 records
Jeel product offering
Product offeringCore offering
Jeel is the digital innovation subsidiary of Riyad Bank that designs, builds, and operates cloud-native digital banking platforms, fintech infrastructure, and digital transformation services for financial institutions and businesses in Saudi Arabia and the GCC. Core offerings include the WSL API Marketplace, the Jeel Sandbox (a supervised fintech testing environment), vertical digital products for real estate, MSMEs, youth banking, and corporate relationship management, alongside professional services spanning banking solutions, managed services, market entry support, and AI/ML-driven innovation services.
Product overview
Jeel, a subsidiary of Riyad Bank, operates as a financial and technology ecosystem provider offering a platform-plus-services architecture. The core product portfolio includes the WSL API Marketplace (enabling fintech access to banking services), the Jeel Sandbox (a supervised testing environment evolving into Banking-as-a-Service, Cards-as-a-Service, and Wallet-as-a-Service), and sector-specific digital platforms including Home Buying Ecosystem, MSME Financial Hub, Smart Banking for Youth, Edara, Awan Finance, and Corporate RM Workbench. These are complemented by professional services spanning Banking Solutions, Digital Transformation & Managed Services, Market Entry Support, and Innovation Services (leveraging AI and ML). The company focuses on serving banking, financial services, real estate, aviation, and telecommunications sectors in Saudi Arabia and the GCC.
Differentiator
Problem solved
Functional benefit
Brands
- Jeel Sandbox: A Sandbox-as-a-Service platform for fintechs, banks, and innovators to test and validate innovations in a supervised, regulator-aligned environment.
Products and services
- WSL – API Marketplace A comprehensive API marketplace designed to empower fintechs by simplifying access to banking services, enabling faster go-to-market strategies and secure integration with financial infrastructure.
Quantifiable outcome
- Electronic payments reached 79% of retail transactions in Saudi Arabia in 2024, indicating market transformation opportunity
Companies that use Jeel
Customer profileNamed customers3 records
Segments4 records
Ideal customer profiles3 records
Jeel technology and API
TechnologyTechnology focussed Yes
API detail
- Has API
- No
- API docs
- API detail
Core technology
AI maturity
App detail
AI capability1 record
Feature4 records
Jeel partnerships and signals
Strategic signalPartnerships
Nine partnerships are on record, tiered flagship, core and minor.
- RippleflagshipRipple signed an MOU with Jeel to explore blockchain applications across Saudi Arabia's banking sector, focusing on cross-border payments, digital asset custody, and asset tokenization. The collaboration develops proofs-of-concept inside Jeel's Sandbox environment as part of Saudi Arabia's Vision 2030 initiative to modernize financial infrastructure. Ripple brings its enterprise product suite including Ripple Payments, Ripple Custody, Ripple Prime, and its stablecoin RLUSD alongside XRP.
- MambucoreJeel partnered with Mambu, a global cloud-native core banking platform, to launch the Jeel Sandbox—a FinTech sandbox accelerator developed in collaboration with Fintech Saudi. Built on Mambu's composable banking architecture and hosted on Google Cloud Platform, the platform provides a secure, scalable environment for FinTechs to test and deploy digital financial solutions in compliance with Saudi Central Bank (SAMA) regulations.
- Fintech SaudicoreJeel developed the Jeel Sandbox in collaboration with Fintech Saudi as part of Saudi Arabia's broader Vision 2030 digital transformation agenda to accelerate fintech innovation in the Kingdom.
- SynpulsecoreJeel partnered with Switzerland-based Synpulse to co-develop a new wealth management platform. The platform, built on open APIs, aims to integrate local and international ecosystems and support the Kingdom's Vision 2030 goals of economic diversification.
- Bahrain FinTech BayminorJeel signed a strategic memorandum of understanding with Bahrain FinTech Bay to drive cross-border fintech collaboration between Saudi Arabia and Bahrain.
- zypl.aiminorJeel signed an MOU with zypl.ai to advance data-driven innovation in Saudi Arabia's digital financial services, leveraging AI and machine learning capabilities.
- Google CloudcoreJeel collaborates with Google Cloud to provide cutting-edge digital services for financial and non-financial organizations in Saudi Arabia. Google Cloud hosts the Jeel Sandbox platform and provides cloud infrastructure aligned with SAMA's cloud regulations.
- MastercardcoreMastercard partnered with Jeel to drive payment modernization in Saudi Arabia, leveraging Mastercard's global payments infrastructure and Jeel's local innovation capabilities.
- Riyad BankcoreJeel is the innovation and technology subsidiary of Riyad Bank, powered by one of Saudi Arabia's largest lenders with over $129 billion in assets. Parent company provides strategic backing, resources, and market access.
Scale indicators3 records
Recent moves6 records
Expansion highlights6 records
Jeel competitors and assessment
Company assessmentDirect peers
- Mambu: Mambu provides cloud-native composable core banking software that powers Jeel's Sandbox platform. Both target digital banking transformation for financial institutions and fintechs; Mambu is also a direct technology partner, making it both collaborator and competitor for BaaS workloads.
- Thought Machine: Thought Machine provides cloud-native core banking technology (Vault) for large banks globally. Comparable to the banking infrastructure layer behind Jeel's Sandbox and digital banking products, and increasingly active in the GCC for core banking modernization.
- Tarabut Gateway: Tarabut is the leading MENA open banking API platform connecting banks to fintechs. Directly comparable to Jeel's WSL API Marketplace, serving the same GCC open-banking use case and competing for the same regional bank integrations.
- 10x Banking: 10x Banking provides cloud-native core banking and BaaS infrastructure for challenger and incumbent banks. Competes with the same BaaS evolution path that Jeel Sandbox is targeting, serving similar retail and SME digital banking use cases.
- Lean Technologies: Lean Technologies is a Saudi-based open banking and financial data platform serving banks and fintechs in the Kingdom. Competes directly with Jeel's API Marketplace and Sandbox offerings in the Saudi market, targeting the same SAMA-aligned customers.
Emerging players
- STC Pay (now stc bank): STC Pay is a Saudi digital wallet and payments platform (now licensed as a digital bank under stc). Operates adjacent digital financial services in the same Saudi regulatory perimeter as Jeel and is a natural candidate client or competitor for Jeel's Wallet-as-a-Service and BaaS offerings.
- tabby: tabby is a leading Saudi-based fintech operating in the GCC. While Jeel is infrastructure-focused and tabby is a consumer-facing BNPL/fintech, both operate within Saudi's SAMA-aligned fintech ecosystem and could converge on BaaS or marketplace services over time.
Broad incumbents
- Plaid: Plaid is a global open banking and financial data connectivity platform. Comparable to Jeel's API marketplace and fintech enablement layer, providing the infrastructure for connecting financial institutions to fintech applications, though at much larger global scale.
- TrueLayer: TrueLayer is a leading European open banking API platform serving banks, fintechs, and merchants. Comparable to Jeel's WSL API Marketplace in product functionality (open banking APIs, account aggregation, payments initiation), though focused on European markets.
- Finastra: Finastra is a large global financial software provider offering core banking, lending, payments, and digital channels. Comparable to Jeel's broader Banking Solutions and Digital Transformation services, serving banks in MENA including Saudi Arabia with broader portfolio offerings.
Market position
Strengths5 records
Weaknesses5 records
Competitive moat5 records
Key risks6 records
Key highlights7 records
Customer concentration
Jeel social profiles
Digital presenceJeel compliance and trust
Trust signalCompliance1 record
Jeel financial estimates
Financial estimateRevenue estimate
Valuation estimate
Jeel leadership team
Management profileNumber of profiles
Profiles1 record
Jeel funding detail
Funding detailFunding overview
Funding rounds
Investors
Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Jeel M&A and investment
M&A and investmentM&A
Investments
M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Frequently asked questions about Jeel
What does Jeel do?
Jeel is the digital innovation subsidiary of Riyad Bank that designs, builds, and operates cloud-native digital banking platforms, fintech infrastructure, and digital transformation services for financial institutions and businesses in Saudi Arabia and the GCC. Core offerings include the WSL API Marketplace, the Jeel Sandbox (a supervised fintech testing environment), vertical digital products for real estate, MSMEs, youth banking, and corporate relationship management, alongside professional services spanning banking solutions, managed services, market entry support, and AI/ML-driven innovation services.
Is Jeel a public or private company?
Jeel is a private company. It is classified as corporate owned and is currently operating.
When was Jeel founded?
Jeel was founded in -1. It employs 101 to 250 people.
Where is Jeel based?
Jeel is headquartered in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, in the Middle East region.
How does Jeel make money?
Four revenue lines are on record. Digital Banking Solutions are the primary driver. The others are digital Transformation & Managed Services, market Entry Support and innovation Services.
Who are Jeel's main competitors?
Direct peers on record are Mambu, Thought Machine, Tarabut Gateway, 10x Banking and Lean Technologies. Emerging players are STC Pay (now stc bank) and tabby. Broad incumbents are Plaid, TrueLayer and Finastra.
Does Jeel have an API?
No public API is recorded for Jeel.
What industry is Jeel in?
Jeel's product category is Digital Banking Platforms. Its primary akta.pro industry code is FSAGAAAI, SME Banking Suite (Business Accounts, Invoicing, Payroll Integrations), with a secondary code of FSADAJAJ, Institutional API Connectivity, OMS/EMS & FIX Gateways. Its NAICS code is 541511 and its SIC code is 6199.