Saudi Arabia's pioneering fintech sandbox accelerator powered by Mambu
Launched in 2023 by Riyad Bank, Jeel selected Mambu to power its
fintech sandbox in Saudi Arabia, giving banks and fintechs a fast
way to build, test and scale their solutions in a regulatory-ready environment.
About the customer
Jeel was launched in 2023 by Riyad Bank, one of Saudi Arabia’s largest and most established financial institutions. It operates as the bank’s innovation and technology arm, focused on modernising financial services and reducing the time and cost of launching regulated digital products. Jeel delivers cloud-native banking platforms, embedded finance capabilities and accelerator programmes that help institutions build scalable financial solutions.
Working closely with Fintech Saudi and local authorities, Jeel supports the Kingdom’s Vision 2030 ambitions and the broader growth of the digital economy.
The opportunity
A controlled, compliant path to innovation
Saudi Arabia’s fintech market is expanding quickly, but organisations still face structural barriers when moving from concept to production. Fintechs often lack access to regulated banking infrastructure, and banks face complex delivery cycles when developing new digital services.
Jeel identified the opportunity for a secure sandbox where institutions could test products in real-world conditions and prove technical and regulatory readiness before going live. The goal was to shorten delivery timelines, reduce cost and open a clearer pathway for new digital financial services in the Kingdom.
The solution
A cloud-native core powering the Jeel Sandbox
Jeel selected Mambu as the cloud-native core banking platform to underpin the Jeel sandbox – Saudi Arabia’s pioneering fintech sandbox accelerator.
The environment runs on Google Cloud Platform (GCP) in alignment with the Saudi Central Bank (SAMA) cloud framwork. The Jeel sandbox provides a progressive journey from mock APIs and Wallet as a Service (WaaS) capabilities toward full Banking-as-a-Service (BaaS).
It lays the foundation for a unified ecosystem where financial institutions can build, test and scale their solutions seamlessly.
This partnership sets the stage for onboarding fintechs into Jeel’s sandbox, with the first pilot cohort expected later this year. As the platform grows, it will support advanced testing, regulatory readiness, and commercial deployment through Jeel’s Banking as a Service, positioning Saudi Arabia as the regional fintech launchpad.
“Our collaboration with Mambu strengthens Jeel’s role in driving innovation and enabling fintech leadership in Saudi Arabia. Through the Jeel Sandbox, we are laying the foundation for scalable Banking as a Service – giving fintechs, innovators and institutions the confidence to innovate, comply, and grow within a secure, future-ready environment fully aligned with Vision 2030.”
- George Harrak, Chief Executive Officer of Jeel
Built to power regulated modern financial services
Mambu helps more than 260 banks, lenders and fintechs across 65 countries modernise their core, scale deposits, lending and payments, and deliver the financial experiences customers expect.
