Cairo, Egypt: Egyptian fintech startup Zeal has raised $10 million in new funding as the company plans to expand its technology solutions for payment devices and point-of-sale (POS) systems across the Middle East, Europe and Africa.
The company said the new funding will support the development of its technology solutions and accelerate its international expansion. Zeal has not disclosed the stage of the funding round, the participating investors, or the structure of the transaction.
Founded in 2019 by Omar Obaid and Bilal Mohamed, Zeal develops technology designed to help traditional retailers better understand customer behavior through existing point-of-sale infrastructure and create new channels for engaging with customers after a purchase.
Turning Payment Devices Into Customer Engagement Tools
A key part of Zeal’s offering is its SmartPOS Plugin, which adds customer engagement capabilities to the payment process without requiring merchants to replace their existing POS infrastructure.
The technology enables merchants to identify customers during in-store transactions and use available transaction data to segment shoppers according to their purchasing patterns. Merchants can then use these insights to engage specific customer segments after the transaction.
Zeal’s approach addresses a long-standing challenge for traditional retailers, which generally have less visibility into customer behavior than online businesses.
While e-commerce platforms can track customers throughout their digital journey — from browsing and product discovery to purchase and returns — physical retailers have traditionally had limited access to customer identity and purchasing data at the point of sale.
Zeal aims to change this by transforming the payment device from a transaction-processing tool into a customer intelligence and engagement channel.
The company’s technology is designed to help merchants build longer-term customer relationships by using transaction data to understand purchasing activity and engage customers beyond the initial sale.
Partnerships Across the Payments Ecosystem
Zeal has also established partnerships with major players in the payments industry, including Ingenico and Network International.
These collaborations enable Zeal to operate within the existing payments ecosystem, connecting its solutions with payment devices, transaction infrastructure and merchant services rather than requiring merchants to adopt an entirely separate payments infrastructure.
The company has also participated in Visa Everywhere, Visa’s global innovation program supporting fintech companies developing solutions across payments and commerce.
Expansion Across the Middle East, Europe and Africa
Following the latest funding round, Zeal plans to expand its technology across markets in the Middle East, Europe and Africa.
The company’s integration-focused approach is intended to allow merchants to introduce customer analytics and engagement capabilities while continuing to use their existing payment systems.
For traditional retailers, this could reduce the operational and technology barriers associated with adopting new customer engagement tools, while allowing them to gain greater insight into purchasing behavior.
With the new capital, Zeal is now looking to scale its technology, strengthen its presence across international markets and further develop its role at the intersection of payments, POS technology, retail analytics and customer engagement.
