CBUAE Announces Two New Retail Payment Services and Card Schemes Regulations

CBUAE Announces Two New Retail Payment Services and Card Schemes Regulations

The regulation is a continuation of the CBUAE's efforts to foster safety and soundness for consumers regarding retail payments services and the operation of payment card schemes. The new regulation introduces a licensing regime for payment service providers operating – or wishing to provide – one or more of nine payment services or payment card schemes in the UAE. These include payment account issuance, payment instrument issuance, merchant acquiring, payment aggregation, domestic and cross-border fund transfers, payment tokens, payment initiation, and payment account information services. Speaking on the launch of this new regulation, H.E Khaled Mohamed Balama , Governor of the CBUAE, said: "Digital innovation is rapidly reshaping the provision of domestic and global payment services, and the Central Bank of the UAE is embracing this innovation. We promote digital payments and support competition and innovation as well as the concept of interoperability, while setting high standards for safety and risk management. He continues: "The recent set of payment regulations promotes the pivotal role of CBUAE in fostering digital innovation while maintaining the safety and integrity of payment systems and services. CBUAE will always provide a solid foundation as the guardian of the financial infrastructure systems stability." The