Revolut has received approval from the Central Bank of the United Arab Emirates for two key payments licenses, clearing a major regulatory step as the global fintech prepares to launch services in one of the Middle East’s most active financial markets.
The company said that it had obtained a Stored Value Facilities license and a Retail Payment Services Category II license from the Central Bank of the UAE. The approvals follow an in-principle approval granted by the regulator in September 2025, when Revolut first outlined its intention to bring its financial app to UAE retail customers.
The licenses give Revolut a formal regulatory pathway to build and prepare its local product offering before a full-scale rollout. Once live, the firm said customers in the UAE will be able to access its global financial platform, including the ability to hold and manage multiple currencies, make payments with physical and virtual cards, and send money locally and internationally through one app.
The UAE’s Growing Role in Digital Finance
The UAE has become an increasingly important market for international fintech firms, supported by a large expatriate population, strong demand for cross-border payments, and a regulatory agenda aimed at developing the country’s digital finance ecosystem.
Revolut is entering the market at a time when consumer banking and payments in the Gulf are becoming more competitive. The UAE’s population includes millions of residents who live, work, and transact across borders, creating demand for multi-currency accounts, international transfers, and card-based digital payment products. That profile fits closely with Revolut’s core offering, which was originally built around foreign exchange, money transfers, and app-based financial management.
The company said it now serves more than 75 million customers worldwide. That figure marks a notable increase from September 2025, when Revolut said it had more than 60 million customers at the time of its UAE in-principle approval.
The Regulatory Significance of the Approval
A Stored Value Facilities license is central to wallet-style financial services, where customer value can be stored digitally and used for payments. The Central Bank’s Stored Value Facilities regulatory framework sets out requirements for providers operating these types of facilities in the UAE.
The Retail Payment Services and Card Schemes framework, meanwhile, governs payment service providers and card scheme activity in the country. The Central Bank’s Retail Payment Services and Card Schemes Regulation requires relevant payment service providers to obtain a license before offering regulated retail payment services.
Together, the approvals indicate that Revolut has moved beyond preliminary authorization and completed the licensing process needed to continue preparing its UAE operations.
UAE Officials Emphasize Fintech Momentum
H.E. Mohammad Abdulrahman Alhawi, undersecretary at the UAE Ministry of Investment, said: "The UAE's position as a global hub for financial services innovation is built on the strength of our regulatory environment and the confidence international companies continue to place in our long-term vision. Revolut's licensing approval by the Central Bank of the UAE adds to the depth of that ecosystem and reflects the growing international presence that contributes to the knowledge-based economy the UAE continues to build."
Ambareen Musa, Revolut’s GCC CEO, called the approval “a pivotal moment” for the company and said it reflected Revolut’s commitment to operating to high regulatory standards.
“We see tremendous opportunity to contribute to the country’s digital economy by providing consumers with more choice and greater control over how they manage their money,” Musa said.
Revolut Moves Beyond In-Principle Approval
Revolut’s latest announcement builds on its September 2025 statement, when the company said it had received in-principle approval for the same two license categories.
At that stage, the company described the UAE as a pivotal growth market and said it planned to launch a comprehensive product experience for retail customers. The new approval indicates Revolut has since moved beyond in-principle approval and completed the licensing process needed to continue preparing its UAE operations.
Revolut said it is continuing to invest in technology, operations, local capabilities, infrastructure, and governance frameworks in the UAE. The company also said it is preparing a product experience tailored to local customer needs while meeting the regulatory obligations attached to operating in the market.
A Regulated Path to Global Expansion
The UAE approval comes as Revolut continues to pursue expansion across multiple regulated markets. Founded in the United Kingdom in 2015, the company has grown from a foreign exchange and money transfer app into a broader financial platform offering payments, cards, budgeting tools, business accounts, and other services in several jurisdictions.
Regulatory approvals remain a key part of that growth strategy. In highly supervised financial markets, fintech firms cannot simply launch regulated financial or payment services without meeting local requirements around governance, compliance, customer fund protection, consumer safeguards, and operational resilience.
That makes the UAE approval commercially important, but also operationally significant. Revolut’s ability to compete in the country will depend not only on brand recognition and pricing, but also on how effectively it localizes its product, secures customer trust, and operates within the Central Bank’s regulatory expectations.
UAE Launch Date Still To Be Announced
Revolut has not disclosed when its UAE services will become available to the public. The company’s announcement indicates that the next phase will focus on building and preparing the local offering before launch.
The approval nevertheless gives Revolut a clearer route into a market where digital payments, remittances, and multi-currency financial tools are already central to everyday financial activity. Its next challenge will be translating that regulatory progress into a local product that meets customer expectations and fits the UAE’s payments landscape.
A public rollout would put Revolut in front of a customer base that is already familiar with app-based banking, digital wallets, and international money movement. The UAE’s large expatriate community also makes cross-border payments a particularly important part of the market, giving multi-currency platforms a practical use case beyond simple card spending.
Further details are expected to become clearer once Revolut outlines its launch plans, including which services will be available first and how its UAE offering will compare with products available in other markets. Until then, the approval marks a regulatory milestone rather than a full commercial launch.
