Regulatory expansion strengthens Ziina's market position
The UAE fintech platform Ziina has announced that it has received a Category III Retail Payment Services license, in addition to a Category IV Money Changing business license under the umbrella of its existing Stored Value Facility license from the Central Bank of the UAE. This achievement makes Ziina the first local fintech company in the UAE to hold licenses covering these three activities combined.
What changes practically for users?
These new licenses grant Ziina an integrated regulatory framework that allows it to expand the scope of its financial services for individuals and businesses through a unified platform. Under these licenses, the company will be able to provide services including:
- Merchant services: Full coverage for payment acquisition, payment aggregation, and the provision of solutions such as payment links, QR codes, Tap to Pay technology, and an electronic payment gateway.
- International transfers: Activating the ability to conduct cross-border money transfers directly through the Ziina digital application.
- Money management: Enhancing the capabilities of the digital wallet launched by the company earlier in 2024, allowing users to receive, hold, and spend money locally and internationally in one place.
Why does this news matter?
This development represents a strategic step for Ziina at a time when the UAE market is witnessing rapid growth in the adoption of digital financial solutions. Data from the Central Bank of the UAE's 2025 annual report indicates that retail transfers through the country's fund transfer system reached 9.9 trillion dirhams, with an increase in transaction value of 19.9% year-on-year.
Ziina currently serves more than 500,000 customers annually, processes an annual payment volume exceeding $1.5 billion, and its services are used by one in every 10 small and medium-sized enterprises in the UAE. Founder and CEO Faisal Toukan aims, through these licenses, to build a new generation of financial products that integrate various aspects of a user's financial life into one application, with an ambition to expand this model to include the Arab world.