UAE Financial Licensing

The UAE has four main financial regulatory perimeters.

• CBUAE (onshore): banks, finance companies, stored value and retail payment services.
• VARA (Dubai, excluding DIFC): virtual asset activities licensed per activity.
• DFSA (DIFC): common-law financial free zone with its own rulebook.
• FSRA (ADGM): Abu Dhabi's financial free zone, with an established virtual asset framework.

Choose the perimeter by activity and target clients: free zone licences generally do not permit onshore retail activity without additional authorisation.