Central Bank of the UAE (CBUAE)
What licence do I need for a stored-value wallet in the UAE?
Content reviewed 2026-09-12 · How we check sources
Short answer
If the wallet meets the CBUAE definition of a Stored Value Facility (SVF), an onshore provider generally needs authorisation under the CBUAE Stored Value Facilities Regulation, subject to the regulation's scope and exclusions. Merely holding or passing funds is not, by itself, enough to conclude that a product is an SVF.
What this means
The key question is whether the product is a facility against which value is stored for later use, not simply whether money touches the platform. The legal structure of the stored value, who issues it, where it can be used and how customers redeem or spend it determine whether the SVF regime is engaged.
A wallet can also perform other regulated functions. For example, payment transfers, payment-account services or other retail payment services can engage the Retail Payment Services and Card Schemes Regulation, while payment-token activity can engage the Payment Token Services Regulation.
Do not use a simple rule such as 'customer money equals SVF'. Map the product against the current SVF definition and scope, then test separately for any retail-payment, open-finance or payment-token activity that sits beside it.
For a non-bank SVF licensee, Article 7 sets minimum paid-up capital at AED 15 million and requires aggregate capital funds of at least 5% of total customer float. The Central Bank may impose a higher requirement; these are prudential requirements, separate from application fees and operating costs.
Official sources
CBUAE — Stored Value Facilities Regulation ↗CBUAE — Payment Token Services Regulation ↗CBUAE SVF Regulation — Article 7: financial resources ↗Ask with your entity, activity and regulator.
Regulatory research, not legal advice. This answer has the scope and review date shown above; your institution decides applicability.