AI assistant + digital bank · Dubai
Your first AI assisted bank.
Just ask, and your bank does the rest. Book the holiday, order the food, send the flowers. You set the spending rules once and Rumba never moves outside them. Open from sixteen.
Headquartered in Dubai · Technology by Mbanq
Rumba is not yet a licensed bank. See notice below.
16+
Minimum age
50+
Currencies
10 min
To open an account
$385bn
Gaming economy
Rumba Assistant · In development
Ask for it. It handles the rest.
“I want to go to Dubai from the 11th to the 17th. Find me flights, book somewhere for dinner when I land, and sort a driver from the airport. Budget is £1,000.”
Your assistant searches, compares, checks the cancellation terms, finds the discounts and builds the whole thing. Then it stops. Because the part where money moves is not its decision to make.
Why it stops before it pays
An assistant that browses the web is exposed to whatever it reads. A page can hide an instruction telling it to send money somewhere. Rumba treats everything the assistant encounters as untrusted, and keeps payment authority entirely outside it - so a compromised conversation still cannot move a penny.
The Rumba Assistant is in development and is not part of the launch product. The demo is a scripted illustration.
What Rumba is
Are you ready for a change?
Rumba combines everyday fiat currency - AED, GBP, USD and more - with a wallet that rewards you for the way you already spend. Buy a coffee, split a bill, send money to a friend, pick up a festival ticket: the account pays you back for it.
It is built for teenagers and young adults who want a bank that speaks their language, works across borders without punishing exchange rates, and connects to the communities they are already part of - from gaming to music to sport.
And a share of what Rumba earns goes back out. Every account funds clean water work in Ghana. That is not a campaign. It is how the business is designed.
It does the admin
In developmentBook, order, arrange, chase and remember, with your calendar connected so it works around your week. Every payment still stops at you.
Digital first, not digital only
Full mobile banking with the personal service usually reserved for private clients - including a premium tier with airport lounge access as members grow.
The bank is the group chat
Peer-to-peer transfers, in-app chat, gaming account sync and a marketplace built around the people you already talk to every day.
Sustainable by default
A portion of net revenue and unredeemed reward points funds the Ghana clean water initiative - a permanent line in the model, not a marketing budget.
The product
Everything in one account.
An account in under ten minutes. A card in your wallet straight away, physical if you want one.
Who the account is for
The main Rumba account opens at sixteen. Between sixteen and eighteen it runs with credit and digital assets switched off and lower ceilings. At eighteen the full account opens. A separate Junior account for members aged thirteen to fifteen, opened and controlled by a parent or guardian, is planned for after the main launch rather than alongside it.
Nothing below is available yet
Rumba has not launched. Every feature on this page is labelled with where it actually stands, and each one depends on agreements, integrations and approvals we have not completed. Treat this as what we are building, not what you can open today.
Coffee
Checkout
Tap. Paid. Rewarded.
-
In your wallet from day one
Add the card to Apple Pay or Google Pay the moment the account opens. No waiting for post.
-
Pay with your phone
Hold near the reader, confirm with Face ID or a double-click. Works anywhere contactless does, in over 50 currencies.
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Points land instantly
Rumba Points appear the second the payment clears - no statement cycle, no waiting until the end of the month.
Split bill
Split it in two taps.
A £12.50 coffee run, split down the middle. Send the request from your phone, your friend pays from theirs, and it settles between the two accounts instantly. No IOUs, no chasing, no transfer details.
Today
Split bill
£12.50
Coffee · 50 / 50
Split bill
Request sent
Waiting for Sam · £6.25
Sam paid you
£6.25
+30 RP earned
Ava’s phone
Balance
£48.20
Rumba ···· 4471
Split request
Ava
Coffee · 50 / 50
£6.25
Paid
£6.25
to Ava
Sam’s phone
Physical and digital
In developmentAdd to Apple Pay or Google Pay the moment you open. Order a physical card for in-person spending and cash withdrawals, delivered globally.
Make it yours
Planned after launchPersonalised card designs, including collaborations with brands, artists and athletes using their image rights.
Spend in any currency
In developmentOver 50 currencies in one wallet. Hold, exchange and spend without getting caught out by rates when you travel.
From 16, in full at 18
In developmentSixteen and seventeen year olds get the wallet, the card, multi-currency and the assistant, with credit and digital assets switched off and lower spending ceilings. At eighteen the account opens fully. A separate Junior account for younger members comes later.
Peer to peer
In developmentInstant transfers between members, plus split-bill in the app so nobody has to chase anybody.
Sync your accounts
Long-term visionConnect PlayStation, Xbox and Steam to make in-game purchases without the wait, and earn on what you already buy.
Safer through knowledge
Planned after launchCourses, webinars and a live market ticker covering money basics and digital asset awareness. Safety treated as education, not just a setting.
The Rumba shop
Long-term visionBuy and sell inside the community - gaming skins, concert tickets, sneakers - and earn rewards on what you sell.
Premium and credit
Long-term visionA premium tier for members who outgrow the basics, and credit products subject to age, eligibility and affordability checks.
Rewards
Two tiers. One clear line between them.
Rewards sit at the centre of Rumba, and we have deliberately separated what everyone can use from what only verified adults can.
Rumba Points
A closed-loop reward with a fixed value. Earned on transactions, on how long you hold, and on taking part in the community. Not tradeable and not an investment.
- Spend directly with partner merchants - coffee, food, streetwear, cinema, fitness
- Convert to gift cards for major retailers and platforms
- Put towards subscriptions you already pay for
- Take as statement credit against everyday spending
- Use at partner festivals and events
Rumba Coin
A separate, tradeable digital asset for verified members aged 18 and over. It will be issued from a ring-fenced entity, offered only under the applicable UAE virtual asset regime, and only once the required authorisations are in place. Under-18 members have no access to it at any point. It is not available today.
Infrastructure
Built on banking-grade rails.
Rumba runs on Mbanq, a cloud-based banking-as-a-service platform used by banks, credit unions and fintechs. We build the experience. Mbanq provides the core.
Banking as a service
Core banking, customer management, transaction processing, payments, lending, compliance and reporting - proven infrastructure rather than something rebuilt from scratch.
Scalable by default
Hosted infrastructure that scales with demand and is available anywhere with a connection, without the constraints of on-premises systems.
AML and KYC built in
Identity verification, anti-money-laundering screening and transaction monitoring are part of the platform, aligned to the requirements of the jurisdictions we operate in.
Protecting members
Encryption, multi-factor authentication and real-time fraud monitoring, paired with in-app education so members can protect their own accounts.
Connected, not closed
Open APIs let Rumba plug into payment gateways, identity providers and partner platforms - and let partners plug into Rumba.
Supported continuously
Ongoing technical support, system upgrades, security updates and monitoring to keep the service stable and available.
On licensing
Mbanq provides technology infrastructure. It is not a banking licence. Rumba will launch through licensed partner institutions, with regulated activity carried out by those partners, while we pursue our own authorisation. We would rather say that plainly than imply otherwise.
Community
A bank that meets you where you already are.
The founder's starting point was WeChat: a country where chat, community and money live in the same place. Rumba takes that idea and builds it for a generation that treats gaming servers, group chats and festivals as home ground.
- Discord and Telegram - where the community organises, talks and gets support
- Gaming communities - online multiplayer, forums, streamers, e-sports and local meet-ups
- Social platforms - live events, Q&As and member-created content
- Always-on support - in-app chat, live chat, video calls and assistance around the clock
Collaborations
Conversations under way.
The three below are in discussion. None is a signed agreement, and we will say so plainly here when that changes.
Sole DXB
The footwear, music, art and lifestyle festival in Dubai Design District. Rumba brings transactional utility to its community on the ground.
Swiss Training House
Professional online courses, from Microsoft certifications to personal development - feeding directly into LearnBase.
Ultra Education
A platform for young entrepreneurs, and a community with exactly the ambition Rumba is built to support.
Sustainability
Clean water in Ghana, funded by everyday banking.
For over a decade Ghana has been dealing with illegal mining - known locally as galamsey. It has taken agricultural land and polluted major water bodies, cutting communities off from their source of livelihood. The Water Research Institute has warned that Ghana could soon be importing water.
Rumba intends to direct a defined portion of net revenue to clean water work in Ghana. The delivery partner, the exact allocation formula, the governance around it and the audit method are not settled yet. We would rather publish those once they are agreed than describe an arrangement that does not exist.
The founder has met senior figures in Ghana who are supportive of the initiative. Those are relationships and encouragement, not funding commitments or formal endorsements, and we will not present them as more than that.
The founder has supported causes in West Africa since childhood. In 2023 he was formally invited to deliver that support to the clean water initiative.
Meet the board
Experience where it counts.
Further appointments are in progress across both boards. We will announce each one as it is confirmed, rather than before.
Executive board
Lars Rottweiler
Executive board member
CTO and Co-Founder of Mbanq, the Silicon Valley banking-as-a-service provider. A banking transformation specialist in digital and blockchain banking, previously in executive roles at Deutsche Bank, PwC, Accenture and Infosys. He has lectured at Stanford University and the University of Liechtenstein, and founded the Steinbeis Consulting Centre Intercultural Academy. He backed Rumba in 2022 and mentors the founder.
Coming soon
Executive board · confirmation pending
In discussion. The appointment will be published here once it is confirmed and any interests are declared.
Coming soon
Executive board · confirmation pending
In discussion. The appointment will be published here once it is confirmed and any interests are declared.
Non-executive advisory board
Coming soon
Advisory · confirmation pending
In discussion. Announced once confirmed.
Coming soon
Advisory · confirmation pending
In discussion. Announced once confirmed.
Coming soon
Advisory · confirmation pending
In discussion. Announced once confirmed.
Declared related-party interest
Lars Rottweiler is CTO and Co-Founder of Mbanq, which supplies Rumba's core banking technology. This relationship is formally declared. He is recused from board approval of any commercial terms involving Mbanq, and those decisions are taken by the remaining directors. We publish this because good governance should be visible, not assumed.
Meet the team
Small team. Long game.
Adam Al-Balushi
Founder · Acting CEO
Born in London to an Emirati family, Adam moved to Los Angeles at seven and later to Dubai. Home schooling let him move through the school system years ahead of schedule. He sat his first GCSE at ten and completed his GCSEs at thirteen, with grades across environmental science, global politics, advanced mathematics, statistics, science and English. He went on to complete his A levels at sixteen, two years early, achieving an A in economics, and is currently enrolled in a Yale University economics course.
A year travelling through Cambodia, Vietnam and China introduced him to WeChat, and to the idea that a bank could be a community. Rumba came out of that. He holds the role of Acting CEO deliberately, until a CEO with a proven track record in digital banking joins to take the business to the next stage.
Chief Operating Officer
Open · operations & cyber security
Leading day-to-day operations and the security posture of the platform. We are looking for someone who has done this in a regulated environment.
Chief Financial Officer
Open · finance
Owning the financial model, capital planning and reporting through licensing and launch.
Chief Marketing Officer
Open · brand & growth
Building the Rumba brand with a generation that can spot a marketing department from a mile away.
Pitch deck
Three pages. The whole story.
The short version of Rumba: the opportunity, the product and the plan. The full investor deck, with the model, the economics and the raise, is shared privately on request.
White paper
The full thinking, written down.
The Rumba white paper sets out the model in detail: the market gap, the reward architecture, the infrastructure, the sustainability programme and the team.
Version 3.0
Rumba - Digital Hybrid Bank
Get in touch
Be there when it opens.
Join the waitlist and we will let you know when accounts open. No noise in between.
Dubai · London
Rumba is headquartered in Dubai, United Arab Emirates, with a presence in London.
Enquiriesadam@rdbnk.com - founder’s office
Preferred partners
The people we build with.
HUG Recruitment
Our preferred talent partner, building out the Rumba team as we move through licensing
and launch. HUG's own client roster includes Mastercard, Citadel and JP Morgan. Those
are HUG's relationships, not Rumba's.
Mbanq
Our preferred technology partner, supplying the cloud core banking platform, AML and
KYC screening and open APIs behind Rumba. Mbanq provides technology, not a licence.