New York, NY / Riyadh, SA – October 20, 2025 – Abyan Capital, a leading robo-advisory1 investment platform in Saudi Arabia, today announced the launch of their new self-directed trading service. The service will allow users to trade US equities and open high-yield savings accounts in compliance with Shariah law. Powering this new offering is Alpaca, a global leader of brokerage infrastructure API providing access to options, stocks, ETFs, and fixed income.
Interest in US equities has been growing rapidly among Saudi investors. According to the Capital Markets Authority, transactions reached SAR193.4 billion (USD51.6 billion) in Q2 2025, a 230% year-over-year (YoY) increase. Additionally, the US markets accounted for over 98% of all international trading by Saudi investors, highlighting the importance of providing continued, open access to US-based investment opportunities.2
“Through conversations with thousands of users, we identified a significant gap in the Saudi market: no single player was offering Shariah-compliant products, intuitive user experiences, and efficient access to US markets all on one platform. We believe we can be that player and offer all three in a compelling way,” said Saleh Alaqeel, Co-Founder, Abyan Capital.
Powered by Alpaca’s Broker API, Abyan’s self-directed trading platform will offer:
- Shariah-compliant US equities, high-yield cash accounts, and instant funding
- A streamlined onboarding process that removes the need for physical visits and unnecessary paperwork
- Multiple funding options, including card payments, wire transfers, and transfers from existing Abyan portfolios
- Tools to calculate the purification, Zakat, and Shariah compliance of stocks
“Our partnership with Alpaca has been crucial in making it easier for us to launch our Shariah-compliant trading solutions," said Saleh Alaqeel. "Their reliable technical infrastructure and continuous introduction of new features have been instrumental to our success."
“We are excited to support Abyan as they bring self-directed trading to their users,” said Yoshi Yokokawa, CEO and Co-Founder of Alpaca. “As Saudi Arabia advances its Vision 2030 agenda to expand financial inclusion, diversify its economy, and empower individuals through innovation, Alpaca is proud to contribute by building infrastructure that enables Shariah-compliant investing. Our mission is to open global financial accessibility, and supporting the Kingdom’s goals is a natural extension of that commitment.”
This launch strengthens the long-standing partnership between Abyan Capital and Alpaca, which began in 2021.
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About Alpaca
Alpaca is a US-headquartered self-clearing broker-dealer and brokerage infrastructure for stocks, ETFs, fixed income, 24/5, options trading, and offers crypto– raising over USD170 million in funding. Alpaca is backed by top-tier investors globally, including Portage Ventures, Spark Capital, Tribe Capital, Social Leverage, Horizons Ventures, Unbound, SBI Group, Derayah Financial, Elefund, and Y Combinator.
About Abyan Capital
Abyan Capital is a robo-advisory investment platform that was established in June 2021 by Saleh Alaqeel, Abdullah Aljeraiwi, and Omar Almania. The company launched its Shariah-compliant robo-advisory platform in 2022 to make it easy for an average user in Saudi to save and invest
- “Investing in Abyan: Empowering Retail Investors to Shape their Financial Goals” STV. May 2, 2025
- “Saudi trading in US stocks hits record SR193.4 billion in Q2 2025”, Saudi Gazette, August 21, 2025
Alpaca and Abyan Capital are not affiliated and are not responsible for the liabilities of others.
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