JeelPay, based in Saudi Arabia, has set itself apart by providing innovative solutions that improve access to educational services and enhance the experiences of individuals and institutions in the country. With its strategic vision and creative approach, JeelPay has become a leading fintech company supporting the field of educational financing.
The company in January 2025 announced obtaining $6.6 million in a Pre-Series A investment round to advance its expansion strategy. With participation from Joa Capital, AlJazira Capital, and other angel investors, the latest investment round will allow JeelPay to support its development plans, with the company being among the latest businesses to gain interest from investors aiming to benefit from the Gulf region’s advancing startup community.
The newly acquired capital will assist JeelPay in providing new financing solutions and solidifying its partnerships with educational institutions, further strengthening the company’s position as a participant in the GCC’s fintech ecosystem. The start-up also has plans to introduce an initial public offering (IPO) in Saudi Arabia by 2027. The company’s commitment to education financing falls in line with the region’s objectives to further expand the fintech and education sectors.
JeelPay’s flagship product is its “Study Now, Pay Later” scheme which enables parents to finance their children’s tuition upfront, focusing on minimising financial burden in the education sector. The scheme, which is a first-of-its-kind in the Kingdom, aims to support students and educational institutions by providing a flexible payment model, enabling pupils to continue their education without thinking about financial burdens or additional interest.
In an exclusive chat with Global Business Outlook, JeelPay CEO Faizal Al-Hussayen said, “The academic sector is one of the vital areas JeelPay supports, and this product facilitates educational opportunities and reduces financial obstacles, deepening the company’s role in developing the Kingdom’s education system. Achieving high performance at JeelPay is crucial to maintaining its leadership position.
Investing in service development is an essential step to enhancing our competitive ability in the market. This approach aligns with our strategy to meet the ever-evolving needs of the academic field.”
JeelPay differs from its industry peers by adopting a proactive approach to addressing challenges, when it comes to addressing financial concerns related to achieving quality degrees, thereby positioning the start-up at the forefront of companies offering advanced technological solutions for the Kingdom’s education sector.
With the increasing trend toward digitisation across all sectors, JeelPay has emerged as one of the leading companies actively contributing to the digital transformation of educational financing. This excellence received top recognition in the form of the prestigious Global Business Outlook award, thereby affirming the venture’s position as a pioneering company providing solutions that meet the aspirations of the academic sector in the Kingdom.
“We are delighted to win the (GBO) award, which is a great honour for the company and represents an exceptional achievement that reflects the continuous efforts we make to achieve excellence in the field of financial services. The award is a culmination of our team’s full commitment to quality and innovation. We are proud of this achievement, which drives us to continue developing our services and keeping up with the highest standards. We express our deep gratitude to our customers, who have always been part of our journey towards success,” Faizal Al-Hussayen reacted upon winning the GBO Award, as he added, “JeelPay aims to expand its operations locally and regionally, focusing on developing comprehensive financing solutions that meet the needs of the ever-changing market. The company continues implementing well-planned strategies to ensure the delivery of high-quality services, solidifying its position as a trusted financial partner in advancing the educational process.”
JeelPay’s ecosystem
JeelPay considers investments in education the most important function for the future, and the company strives to make it more accessible and flexible to everyone. To fulfil the vision, the start-up is now aggressively offering innovative solutions for paying tuition fees in instalments easily and without additional interest.
“We collaborate with educational institutions to facilitate access for students and their families to the best academic opportunities, free from financial pressures. We aim to be the leading partner in education financing by providing safe and user-friendly digital payment services. Our mission is to deliver solutions that make education more accessible to everyone while maintaining the highest level of privacy and security for all our users. We believe that financially empowering students will lead to greater educational opportunities and help them achieve their academic goals,” Faizal Al-Hussayen explained his company’s mission in the following words.
JeelPay’s “Study Now, Pay Later” has simplified educational payments with 12 easy instalments. The service has successfully processed 50000-plus applications, involving students studying at over 250 schools and more than 30 universities in the Kingdom.
Availing of the “Study Now, Pay Later” programme is very easy. All the applicant needs to do is choose his/her school or university and submit an instalment request. Then, the person will have to review and accept JeelPay’s terms and conditions, before paying the first instalment and continuing with the upcoming payments.
“We at JeelPay are committed to achieving a balance between providing financial freedom and encouraging responsible spending. In order to achieve the highest standards of compliance with Islamic Sharia, we have established an independent Sharia committee for JeelPay,” Faizal Al-Hussayen noted.
Partnering with JeelPay allows Kingdom-based schools to receive payments in advance and efficiently manage expenses for better financial balance and planning. While providing a convenient payment solution for parents, promoting timely payments and reducing the burden of lump sum payments by dividing tuition fees through JeelPay, the start-up also streamlines the payment process to eliminate the need to deal with the fee collection procedure.
To get associated with JeelPay, the institution must be licensed by the Ministry of Education, the National Authority for e-Learning, the Technical Institute, or equivalent regulatory bodies. It is worth mentioning that the partner schools get the opportunity to improve their cash flow by paying tuition fees upfront, which contributes to better financial resource management for these educational institutions, apart from attracting more students.
JeelPay facilitates the division of tuition fees into instalments agreed upon by the school and the parents. The agreed-upon instalment plan is then implemented, and parents can make their payments accordingly. The school receives their payment upfront. The company also offers integration options with existing school management systems, making it easier to incorporate JeelPay’s payment solution seamlessly into the school’s existing processes.
To qualify for JeelPay’s “Study Now, Pay Later,” the primary applicant must be employed, have a salary of at least 4,000 SAR, have no high financial obligations, and be enrolled in social insurance. The application process is easy. The applicant needs to download the JeelPay app. From there, he/she can browse the contracted educational institutions and choose the suitable institution to apply. While JeelPay services have been made available to non-Saudi residents, the start-up does not charge additional fees to the beneficiaries. However, there may be standard service fees depending on the plan and institution.
How JeelPay works
Through “Study Now, Pay Later,” JeelPay’s customers benefit from tuition fee instalments over 12 months, apart from enjoying the freedom of electronic payment without interest or late fees, while getting payment flexibility that suits their financial needs.
Educational institutions, upon joining the JeelPay ecosystem, receive advance payments from the start-up, thereby attracting more students by offering a postpaid option, leaving the burden of collecting tuition fees on JeelPay. When negotiating the costs of using the start-up’s “Study Now, Pay Later” package, JeelPay offers flexible solutions tailored to the needs of each educational institution.
JeelPay also offers flexible solutions for companies to provide educational benefits for employees’ children. When it comes to processing and approving the “Study Now, Pay Later” applications, the step takes a short time, and beneficiaries can track the status of their application through the app. Once approved, the student or guardian gets notified immediately. The down payment is calculated based on the total tuition fees agreed upon with the school, and the amount is determined according to JeelPay policies.
“In our pursuit of the highest standards of Islamic Shariah compliance, we have established an independent Shariah Committee for JeelPay, comprising Dr. Yousef bin Abdullah Al-Shubaily, Dr. Ali bin Ibrahim Al-Zaidan, and Dr. Abdulaziz bin Saleh Al-Demaigi, three of experts in Islamic Shariah. This board ensures that all of our operations and activities are in full compliance with the principles of Islamic Shariah through comprehensive periodic reviews, monitoring all our operations and services to provide the necessary guidance, and offering specialised Islamic jurisprudence consultations. Thanks to this collaboration, we can assure our customers and shareholders that our services are provided with the highest level of quality and adherence to Islamic values,” CEO Faizal Al-Hussayen added.
JeelPay’s future looks bright
While JeelPay received its BNPL permit from the Saudi Central Bank (SAMA) in January 2024, in November of that year, Altharwah Albashariyyah Co. signed a service agreement with the start-up, a provider of interest-free monthly tuition instalment services.
The agreement will streamline educational payments for clients of Tharwah Academy by offering secure and user-friendly digital payment solutions. The pact also seeks to enhance educational opportunities, support academic achievement, and provide an exceptional financial experience that boosts operational efficiency and meets client expectations, in the words of JeelPay.
Expect JeelPay to remain a key player in the Saudi fintech sector in the coming days, as the BNPL services continue gaining significant popularity. According to a December 2024 report from leading BNPL provider Tabby, 77% of Kingdom-based consumers now use BNPL for essential purchases.
What has been the striking feature of the Tabby study is the fact that the first-time BNPL transactions are twice as likely to be for necessary items rather than discretionary ones, with education and medical expenses remaining at the forefront.
BNPL’s interest-free instalment structure has made it an attractive and Shariah-compliant payment option for many Saudi consumers, a positive shift from traditional credit cards or loans. The solution is also equipped with a low-barrier alternative to traditional credit, as the BNPL application process doesn’t require a high credit score or lengthy approval process, making it accessible to a wider population, particularly younger and lower-income individuals.
Perfectly fitting the above-mentioned criteria of the Kingdom’s BNPL standards, JeelPay’s 12-month payment mechanism of tuition fee instalments, through an online mode (without interest or late fees), along with payment flexibility is what will redefine the financing standards of the Saudi education sector.