Checkout.com has received in-principle approval from the Central Bank of the UAE for a Stored Value Facilities licence.
The approval will allow the company to add issuing capabilities to its existing acquiring services in the UAE, bringing both functions onto a single platform.
The SVF licence framework, overseen by the CBUAE, governs entities that hold and manage stored value on behalf of customers, including card issuing and related payment instruments. In-principle approval represents an intermediate regulatory stage that precedes full licensing, during which a company works towards meeting the conditions set by the central bank before commencing the relevant activities. Checkout.com has not yet confirmed a date for when the licence will become fully operational.
Once finalised, the licence will enable Checkout.com to combine acquiring, issuing, and business account capabilities for merchants operating in the UAE. According to the company, this will allow businesses to fund cards directly from acquired balances, reducing the need to pre-fund card programmes separately. In addition, Checkout.com has stated that this is intended to improve liquidity management and give merchants greater visibility over their funds.
Market context
Checkout.com currently offers acquiring and issuing as separate, modular services, allowing merchants to adopt one or both depending on their requirements. The company has said that combining the two under one platform is aimed at merchants managing payment flows across multiple markets, including enterprise businesses that need to accept funds and manage payment experiences for customers, partners, and internal teams.
The announcement follows a period of growth for Checkout.com in the broader Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region, where the company reported that total processing volume increased by 62% between 2024 and 2025.
Commenting on the approval, the company's General Manager for MENA said the UAE has developed into a fintech hub supported by a high level of digital adoption and what the company described as a forward-looking regulatory environment. The official added that, once operational, the combined acquiring and issuing offering is intended to help merchants reduce operational complexity and improve liquidity.
Strategic implications
Checkout.com has positioned the announcement within the context of the UAE's FinTech Strategy, implemented by the CBUAE, which aims to support the development of financial technology infrastructure in the country. Moreover, for the company, the in-principle approval marks a step towards expanding its global payments proposition into the UAE market, aligning its regional offering more closely with the broader set of acquiring, issuing, and business account services it provides elsewhere.
