Payments technology company Zeal has raised $10 million in a funding round that will finance a global expansion across more than 4 million payment terminals under contracts signed with acquiring companies, taking its total funding to $14 million.
Zeal, which was founded in Egypt, did not disclose the investors in the latest round but said its terminals are expected to be activated over the next 24 months, giving Zeal access to a large installed base through its relationships with payment acquirers rather than direct merchant distribution.
The funding will be used to support the rollout, expand integrations with payment systems and develop software that gives merchants and payment providers more information about transactions and merchant activity.
Zeal is targeting a market where payment terminals have increasingly become software-enabled devices rather than machines used solely to accept card payments. The company allows merchants to add loyalty programmes to supported payment journeys and provides analytics that payment providers can use to monitor merchant activity.
“A card payment should be the start of a more useful customer relationship,” said Omar Ebeid, Zeal’s co-founder and chief executive.
The company said its signed contracts cover more than 4 million card machines, although deployment will take place over the next two years and the contracts do not represent terminals already activated on Zeal’s platform.
The expansion highlights the growing effort among payments companies to generate additional revenue and data from infrastructure traditionally built around transaction processing.
For merchants, Zeal’s software can support loyalty schemes based on points or stamps, capture customer phone numbers where configured and connect with existing loyalty systems. Its Merchant Health product provides payment providers with information on transaction volumes, terminal activity, payment declines and periods of inactivity.
The company distributes its technology through acquirers, payment service providers and independent sales organisations, allowing it to reach merchant terminal fleets through existing payments relationships.
The model also reflects the fragmented nature of payments infrastructure. Terminal manufacturers, payment applications, operating systems and acquiring platforms can require separate technical integrations, making large-scale deployment more difficult than installing conventional business software.
Android-based payment terminals have expanded the potential for additional applications to run alongside payment acceptance, creating an opening for loyalty, analytics and other merchant services.
Zeal’s latest financing follows earlier backing from Saudi venture capital firm Raed Ventures, Pinnacle Capital and CUR8 Capital. Raed Ventures’ Raed III fund counts Saudi Venture Capital among its investors.
The company was named Team of the Year at the UK FinTech Awards 2026, while co-founder and Chief Technology Officer Belal Mohamed won Innovator of the Year. Zeal is also part of the Scale Up by Endeavor programme. The company expects further enterprise announcements as it expands its relationships with payment acquirers and works toward activating the contracted terminal base over the next 24 months.