Cross-border fintech platform River has acquired Zabihah, which offers halal discovery and delivery service, in a strategic move to expand its reach into compliant financial services and the halal consumer market. As part of the merger, Arman Khwaja, Co-founder of Zabihah, will join River as a Co-founder and Chief Growth Officer.

Zabihah, founded by Shahed Amanullah, has played a significant role in halal discovery globally. Post-acquisition, Amanullah will continue supporting Zabihah’s next chapter as a Board Advisor, guiding its transition toward becoming a broader halal payments platform.

The combined entity will operate under River, a fintech infrastructure company focused on enabling compliant, cross-border money movement. River is backed by investors with ties to Venmo, Brex, and Deel, and its leadership team includes founders of prominent companies such as Shuttle (Ruhin Hossain), Pathao (Hussain Elius), and Lunchbox (Nabeel Alamgir).

The acquisition aligns with River’s broader goal to build scalable fintech solutions catered to underrepresented markets and compliance-driven sectors.