Who does UAE Open Finance apply to?

The regulation covers specified CBUAE licensees and activities regulated by CBUAE. Onboarding is phased; banks and insurers are identified for the first phase. A UAE location alone does not put a DFSA- or FSRA-regulated activity in scope.

Does a bank need a separate Open Finance licence?

Article 3 identifies certain existing CBUAE licensees as Persons Deemed Licensed. They still need to notify CBUAE and obtain approval before offering Open Finance services. Other applicants use the Open Finance licence route; the intended activities determine the scope.

Can customers withdraw consent?

Yes. Article 22 allows withdrawal at any time, and the process should be at least as simple, quick and easy as giving consent. Withdrawal does not erase lawful prior processing or mandatory record-retention duties.

Does consent allow unrestricted use of customer data?

No. Consent is purpose-specific and data must be limited to what is necessary. Sensitive-data restrictions and other privacy duties still apply. An Open Finance permission also does not replace a separate licence for advice or other regulated activities.

Is there one deadline for every institution?

No. The published roadmap separates institution tier, industry, customer segment, implementation deadlines and public go-live dates. FX target dates are presented separately from mandated banking and insurance releases. Select the relevant group below and check your institution’s notices.

Which technical standards should we start with?

At the check date, the technical-standards portal lists v2.1-final as the latest final version for implementation. Some roadmap rows refer to future v2.2/v9 work. A roadmap reference does not make a future specification available; check the portal and errata.

Is connecting to the API hub enough to go live?

No. The testing framework calls for the relevant testing and certifications before go-live for each implemented standards version, with separate certification sets for each brand or application. It does not replace operational, cybersecurity or licensing requirements.

Does Open Finance replace our AML and fraud controls?

No. The portal’s provisional guidelines discuss existing LFI controls, TPP authentication and the exchange of risk indicators. They are provisional guidance, not a reason to stop monitoring or screening under the applicable AML framework.

Can I use every scenario with every bank?

These research scenarios describe potential applications; they are not a live bank-by-bank availability register. Check the implementation version, institution, customer segment and partner confirmation before relying on a particular capability.

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15 of 15 use cases shown · Availability depends on the institution and implementation stage.

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