Fintech and Financial Services
You’re offering a financial service in the United Arab Emirates. The licence question comes before the product roadmap, not after it.
Information, not advice
This page is information, not legal advice about your matter. A retainer begins only when a lawyer confirms it.
Start here
Find out whether you need your own licence
Which regulator licences you depends on the activity and whether you sit onshore or in a free zone. That choice sets both the timeline and the cost.
What to work through, in order
The licence question
Central Bank licensing for payments and lending, SCA for securities activity, and DFSA or ADGM FSRA inside the free zones. The activity list determines which regulator you approach.
Client money and safeguarding
Central Bank and free zone rules both require client funds to be segregated and reconciled, with capital adequacy requirements sitting alongside.
Conduct, complaints and vulnerable customers
Consumer protection regulations from the Central Bank, and conduct of business rules in DIFC and ADGM. Complaint handling requirements apply in each.
Next steps
What happens if you go ahead
Scoping call
Written scope and fixed-fee quote
Engagement, once a lawyer confirms
Who would handle it
Offices
Dubai
DMCC Crypto Centre, 12th Floor, Uptown Tower, Dubai