LuLu Financial Holdings (LFH) has integrated Purpleplum’s core-agnostic orchestration platform into LuLu Money Business, its proposition for small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs). The collaboration connects existing banking infrastructure, payment rails, financial products, and operational workflows, and its aim is to simplify how businesses transact, access financial services, and manage their financial operations.
What the first phase includes
The initial deployment supports LuLu Money Business’s banking proposition for SME and enterprise customers in the UAE. It combines digital business accounts issued by ruya, an Islamic bank licensed by the Central Bank of the UAE, with payments, cards, cross-border remittances, and WPS and payroll services within a single digital experience. Account opening is supported by agentic AI workflows, and thousands of registered business applications are currently under review.
The deployment draws on LuLu Exchange’s existing network and relationships with businesses across the UAE, where its WPS and salary administration services already serve a wide base of businesses and employees. In addition, LFH intends to move LuLu Money Business beyond individual payment and remittance transactions towards a broader set of financial services for SMEs.
Adeeb Ahamed, Managing Director, LuLu Financial Holdings, said that combining Purpleplum’s modular platform with LFH’s existing infrastructure allows the group to modernise service delivery and draw more value from established financial rails. The official added that it also allows the group to introduce new capabilities over time as client needs change. The approach layers new products onto existing infrastructure rather than replacing it.
SMEs account for nearly 95% of companies in the UAE. Data from the UAE Ministry of Economy and Tourism shows the country has approximately 1.33 million SMEs, which contribute 63% of GDP and more than 85% of private-sector jobs. For providers combining banking, payments, and payroll, the segment represents a substantial addressable market.
Roadmap and regional expansion
LuLu Money Business’s longer-term roadmap includes working-capital lending, invoice and trade financing, corporate credit, receivables and payables management, accounting and financial automation, and additional banking and treasury services. These planned capabilities would allow SMEs to address a wider range of financial needs through one integrated digital interface.
The technology has been designed for potential deployment across multiple markets. This creates scope to extend the SME proposition into LFH’s wider footprint, including the GCC, India, and Asia-Pacific, subject to local regulatory and business requirements.
For Purpleplum, the agreement forms part of a regional growth plan. Over the next 12 to 24 months, the company intends to use the UAE as its regional base and expand partnerships with banks, fintechs, and financial services businesses across the GCC and the wider region. It also plans to grow its local team and its ecosystem of technology and financial services partners. Kalyan Karteek Sadasivuni, Co-founder & Managing Director, Purpleplum, cited progressive regulation and demand for technological change as factors shaping digital banking in the Middle East. The official also said AI will play an increasingly important role in how financial institutions operate.
Purpleplum also plans to continue investing in its AI-native banking infrastructure, with AI forming a core layer across onboarding, servicing, operations, compliance, payments, and decision-making. Its roadmap includes AI agents and intelligent workflows for banks and businesses, as well as capabilities in Islamic banking, embedded payments, trade finance, and corporate lending. Furthermore, the company’s stated objective is to help financial institutions automate complex processes and launch and operate new financial products more quickly.
