Dubai-based payments platform Local has partnered with Orbii to offer SME financing directly to merchants using Local’s platform.
The partnership will use transaction data generated through Local’s QR payments infrastructure to help assess merchants based on their actual trading performance, including daily settlement volumes, ticket sizes and revenue trends.
Orbii will use its AI-powered lending infrastructure to turn this data into underwriting decisions, allowing eligible merchants to access financing through the same platform they already use to accept payments.
Local said the model is designed to improve access to financing for SMEs that may have strong daily revenues but limited collateral or financial documentation traditionally required by banks.
The initial focus will be on food and beverage businesses, before potentially expanding to other merchant categories including hotels, clinics and other service businesses.
Orbii’s lending infrastructure is active across the UAE, KSA, Oman and Jordan and processed more than $350M in 2025, according to the announcement.
Local operates across the UAE, KSA and Bahrain and provides QR-based payment infrastructure for sectors including restaurants, hospitality and healthcare.
Source: Saad Ahmed / Local
