Banking Apps Are Becoming the Front Door for Pre-Construction Home Sales Across the Middle East and South Asia

Written by:

Alejandra Rodriguez

Date:

18 Aug 2026

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Cross-border real estate investment has long involved a painful irony: money moves digitally in seconds, but property purchases still require travel, intermediaries, and paper. In markets like Pakistan, Saudi Arabia, and Oman, where large diaspora populations routinely send capital home for real estate, the gap between how easily money crosses borders and how difficult it remains to convert that money into owned property has persisted even as nearly every other financial transaction went digital.

That gap has started to narrow as a handful of banks and property platforms across the Gulf and South Asia experiment with embedding real estate listings and transactions directly inside banking apps. The logic is straightforward: if a bank customer can already transfer funds, buy securities, and manage investments from a phone, there’s no structural reason they can’t also purchase an off-plan property, complete with contract execution, payment processing, and document signing, without leaving the app.

One company building toward this model is Propway, a bank-embedded marketplace operating in Pakistan, Saudi Arabia, and Oman. Its approach offers a working illustration of how the mechanics play out in practice, according to CEO and co-founder Salman Hasan.

The Off-Plan Entry Point

Models like this target off-plan properties sold by developers, not secondary-market resales between individuals, a distinction that matters for a practical reason. Off-plan purchases are already brochure-based decisions: the buyer commits capital to something under construction based on plans, renderings, and a payment schedule tied to construction milestones. There is no physical unit to walk through.

“When you are purchasing an off-plan property, there’s nothing ready at that point in time – it’s under construction,” Hasan says. “You do a booking, and you keep paying based on milestone payments, and eventually when the project is ready, you get a handover.”

Because the purchase decision already relies on digital materials rather than a physical visit, moving the transaction into a banking app requires less behavioral change than it would for a completed property requiring inspection. In Propway’s version of the process, the buyer reviews a digital brochure, selects a unit, signs documents electronically, and the bank debits their account and credits the developer’s, all within one app session.

The Trust Problem in Off-Plan Markets

In markets across the Middle East and Pakistan, developer fraud and non-delivery have eroded buyer confidence in off-plan purchases generally. Hasan argues that placing listings inside a regulated bank’s app addresses this, not through technology alone, but through the implied endorsement that comes with a bank’s participation.

“If a bank is allowing a real estate project to be marketed through its banking app, that’s reliable,” he says. “In the Middle East, in Pakistan, there have been cases where real estate developers haven’t delivered on the commitment. With the bank being there, it brings a lot of authenticity to the overall picture.”

The verification benefit runs both directions: developers using bank-embedded channels also receive buyers who are already KYC-verified with funds confirmed, reducing the qualification uncertainty that has historically plagued off-plan sales in these markets.

What Banks Get From the Arrangement

For banks, the incentive isn’t transaction fees but something more structural. In markets where central bank discount rates run 13 to 14 percent, funds that remain within the banking system generate meaningful income. When a customer pays a developer who also banks at the same institution, the capital never leaves; it moves between accounts internally.

There’s also a retention effect. A typical off-plan project takes three years to complete, and a buyer making milestone payments over that period remains a captive customer for the duration. “For those remaining three years, this customer is stuck with the bank,” Hasan notes. “Banks look forward to stickiness.”

Hasan frames this as a three-sided alignment: developers get verified buyers, buyers get vetted developers through a trusted channel, and banks earn on retained deposits while deepening customer relationships.

Cross-Border Capital and the Diaspora Opportunity

Part of what makes this model relevant is the scale of diaspora capital looking for a home. Eleven million Pakistanis live abroad, many sending money home regularly, and among higher-earning expatriates, real estate is a preferred investment. Historically, purchasing property remotely required sending funds to a family member who would buy in their own name.

“The risk would be that tomorrow if I get into a fight with them, they would own the property and I wouldn’t,” Hasan says. “Practically speaking, you could not own your own property even if it’s your money.”

Regulatory shifts are widening this opportunity further. Saudi Arabia’s recent decision to allow property purchases by non-nationals and non-residents has opened a parallel channel, making bank-embedded purchasing infrastructure immediately relevant to a new pool of diaspora and foreign buyers across the Gulf.

What the Data Suggests About Digital Buying Preference

According to research Propway conducted four months ago with a focus group of 500 ultra-high-net-worth individuals examining preferences for purchases above $100,000, more than 84 percent said they preferred digital means of purchasing, a figure Hasan calls surprising given the company’s average transaction size of approximately $253,000. The finding is self-reported by a single company from an unpublished, small-sample study, so it’s worth reading as directional rather than as an industry benchmark.

For diaspora buyers who have historically relied on family intermediaries and physical travel to invest in property back home, the shift toward bank-embedded transactions removes two of the largest barriers: the need for a trusted local proxy and the requirement to be physically present. As more Gulf and South Asian governments loosen foreign and non-resident ownership rules, the pressure on banks and developers to offer that kind of remote, verified purchasing path is likely to grow, regardless of which specific platforms end up building it.

About the Expert: Salman Hasan is a CEO and co-founder of Propway, a bank-embedded real estate marketplace operating in Pakistan, Saudi Arabia, and Oman.

This article is based on information provided by the expert source cited above. It is intended for general informational purposes only and does not constitute legal, financial, or real estate advice. Readers should conduct their own research and consult qualified professionals before making any real estate or financial decisions.