Table of Contents
Frequently Asked Questions
Do I need Central Bank of the UAE approval for e-banking?
Yes. Approval from the Central Bank of the UAE (CBUAE) is required before your trade license is issued. E-banking activities operate under CBUAE FinTech Strategy 2025, the Open Finance Regulation, Payment Token Services Regulation and Stored Value Facilities frameworks.
What CBUAE regulations govern UAE e-banking?
The CBUAE April 2024 Open Finance Regulation, Sandbox Conditions Regulation, June 2024 Payment Token Services Regulation and October 2025 law integrating digital assets and digital finance activities govern UAE e-banking, per Chambers and Partners and Fintech News UAE.
How large is UAE Aani real-time payments?
The CBUAE Aani real-time payment platform surpassed 1.5 million registered users by early 2025 and has become the default UAE person-to-merchant and person-to-person rail by 2026, per True Fan AI Fintech Guide, alongside interlinking with India's UPI.
What is the Digital Dirham?
The Digital Dirham is the CBUAE retail Central Bank Digital Currency (CBDC), part of nine CBUAE FinTech Strategy initiatives to be fully implemented by 2026, aimed at faster, cost-effective and inclusive payments reinforcing UAE as a regional digital finance hub, per Fintech News UAE.
What does activity 6619.95 cover?
Activity 6619.95 covers e-banking activities auxiliary to financial services including digital banking platform operations, payment gateway and processing, digital wallet and stored value facility operations, open finance API infrastructure and digital finance activities under CBUAE supervision.
How to Start E-Banking Business in Dubai, UAE with Meydan Free Zone
The UAE now runs one of the most integrated digital payment infrastructures in the world. Aani real-time payments moved from launch to default P2P and P2M rail in under two years. The Digital Dirham retail CBDC is on track for rollout.
Open Finance regulations mandate licensed data-sharing across CBUAE-supervised institutions. Federal Decree-Law No. 6 of 2025 consolidated banking, payments, insurance and digital finance under a single regulatory framework. E-banking sits at the intersection of all of it, delivering the digital layer through which UAE customers actually transact.
Ken Research1 values the UAE Digital Banking Platforms market with Central Bank of the UAE (CBUAE), Dubai International Financial Centre and Abu Dhabi Global Market having established comprehensive regulatory frameworks fostering innovation, alongside the CBUAE FinTech Strategy 2025, the Nebras Open Finance framework licensing open finance providers, and integration of wallet services with e-commerce platforms enhancing customer convenience across UAE digital banking channels.
Chambers and Partners2 reports the CBUAE published in April 2024 the Open Finance Regulation mandating CBUAE-licensed financial institutions to apply for open finance licences and introduced the Sandbox Conditions Regulation facilitating innovative fintech testing, alongside the June 2024 Payment Token Services Regulation establishing a comprehensive licensing and supervision framework for digital payment services and stablecoin activities under CBUAE authority.
True Fan AI Fintech Guide3 reports the CBUAE Aani real-time payment platform under the National Payment Systems Strategy surpassed 1.5 million registered users by early 2025 and has become the default rail for person-to-merchant and person-to-person transactions by 2026, alongside interlinking with India's Unified Payments Interface (UPI) enabling cross-border payment corridors between UAE and India for enterprise and retail transactions.
Fintech News UAE4 reports the CBUAE enacted a new law in October 2025 integrating digital assets and digital finance activities into its banking regulatory framework, bringing these activities under CBUAE supervision and licensing authority, alongside the launch of the CBUAE Digital Dirham reinforcing UAE positioning as a regional hub for digital finance with faster, cost-effective and inclusive payments.
From digital banking and neobank platform operators serving UAE retail and SME clients to payment gateway and processing infrastructure providers supporting UAE merchant acceptance, digital wallet and stored value facility operators partnering with CBUAE licensing pathways and open finance and API infrastructure providers supporting CBUAE-licensed financial institutions under the Open Finance Regulation, a trade license lets you tap into that demand. Meydan Free Zone issues yours in under 60 minutes via Fawri, through a fully online process.
An E-Banking Layer Anchored by CBUAE FinTech Strategy 2025 and Aani Real-Time Payments
A Dubai-licensed e-banking operator enters a UAE fintech ecosystem shaped by CBUAE FinTech Strategy 2025, the Open Finance Regulation of April 2024, the Payment Token Services Regulation of June 2024 and the Aani real-time payment platform which surpassed 1.5 million users by early 2025 and became the default UAE P2P and P2M rail by 2026.
Sources: Ken Research (2026), Chambers and Partners (2025), True Fan AI Fintech Guide (2026), Fintech News UAE (2026)
Who is this activity for?
- DIGITAL BANKING & NEOBANK PLATFORM OPERATORS: You run a digital banking platform or neobank operator serving UAE retail and SME clients under CBUAE licensing pathways. You deliver mobile-first current accounts, savings products, cards, cross-border remittance, investment products and integrated financial services under CBUAE FinTech Strategy 2025 alignment and Nebras Open Finance framework connectivity.
- PAYMENT GATEWAY & DIGITAL WALLET OPERATORS: You run a payment gateway and processing infrastructure provider supporting UAE merchant card acceptance, alternative payments and cross-border settlement, or a digital wallet and stored value facility operator delivering QR code payments, P2P transfers, bill payments and merchant acquiring under CBUAE Stored Value Facilities Regulation and Retail Payment Services frameworks.
- OPEN FINANCE, API & DIGITAL FINANCE INFRASTRUCTURE: You run an open finance and API infrastructure provider supporting CBUAE-licensed financial institutions under the April 2024 Open Finance Regulation, or a digital finance activities operator licensed under the October 2025 CBUAE law integrating digital assets, stablecoins and Payment Token Services under CBUAE supervision and licensing authority.
6619.95 - E-Banking
Under this activity, you can run an e-banking business providing digital banking, payment processing and digital finance services under CBUAE-supervised licensing pathways. Service range covers digital banking platform operations, neobank services, payment gateway and processing infrastructure, digital wallet and stored value facility operations, card acquiring and issuing, cross-border payments, open finance and API infrastructure, digital finance activities under Payment Token Services Regulation and specialty services under the Open Finance Regulation.
This activity covers e-banking under other activities auxiliary to financial service activities. It does not cover activities of insurance agents and brokers (6622) or management of funds (6630).
Other 6619 sub-categories including financial transaction processing and settlement, investment advisory services, mortgage advisers and brokers and trustee, fiduciary and custody services on a fee or contract basis fall under separate sub-codes within the same class 6619.
In short: if you are running a digital banking platform, payment gateway, digital wallet operator or open finance API infrastructure provider, this is your activity.
Third-party approval: Approval from the Central Bank of the UAE (CBUAE) is required before your trade license is issued.
Anti-money laundering compliance: This business activity is exempt from AML compliance requirements.
Footnotes
¹ Ken Research, "UAE Digital Banking Platforms Market 2024-2030", January 2026.
² Chambers and Partners, "Fintech 2025 - UAE - Trends and Developments", 2025.
³ True Fan AI Fintech Guide, "UAE Digital Bank License: ADGM, CBUAE, and Dubai Guide", February 2026.
⁴ Fintech News UAE, "Top 4 Digital Banks and Neobanks in the UAE in 2026", February 2026.
