Checkout.com appears to be on course to deliver a full UAE offering.
Checkout.com is within touching distance of card issuing in the UAE, securing in‑principle approval for a Stored Value Facilities (SVF) licence from the Central Bank of the UAE.
The approval follows the company’s regulatory push first reported by Payment Expert in April 2025, when Checkout.com became the first digital payments service provider to apply for a card‑issuing licence in the UAE, targeting a 2026 launch if successful.
Those plans have now fallen into place, with the SVF licence allowing the company to add issuing to its existing acquiring services in the region and edging it closer to offering a unified payments platform for merchants.
Remo Giovanni Abbondandolo, General Manager for MENA at Checkout.com, said the approval “moves us closer to providing UAE merchants with a truly unified payments platform,” adding that a connected approach will help businesses “reduce complexity, improve liquidity and create new payment experiences for their customers, partners and teams.”
The UK-based fintech says payments flows in the region span multiple markets and that businesses need the ability to accept funds, manage payouts and build new payment experiences without relying on separate providers or pre‑funding card programmes.
With the SVF licence obtained, Checkout.com’s unified platform will allow merchants to fund cards directly from acquired balances, linking acquiring, issuing and business account capabilities.
The company says this will remove the operational burden of topping up card programmes in advance, improve liquidity and give merchants better visibility and control over how money moves through their businesses.
The journey so far
Checkout.com publicly announced its issuing ambitions in April 2025, stating that the licence application was “proof” of its commitment to the MENA region.
At the time, Abbondandolo noted the UAE’s rising influence on the digital economy and its appetite for innovation, noting: “The appetite for innovation [in the UAE] is real, and we’re proud to be building the infrastructure that powers it.”
The company said then that the licence would allow businesses to launch branded virtual and physical cards, streamline B2B payouts and simplify expenses. Everything appears to be running on schedule as Guillaume Pousaz, Founder and CEO of Checkout.com, set a 2026 launch date for issuing in the UAE.
In a release published earlier today (27 July), Checkout.com says the approval will help it keep momentum in the region, where total processing volume grew 62% year‑on‑year between 2024 and 2025.
Everybody wants a full offering
Checkout.com has secured several UAE regulatory firsts over the past two years. It became the first global payment service provider to obtain a Retail Payment Services licence from the Central Bank, enabling Apple Pay acceptance for merchants, and the first to launch Visa Direct’s Push‑to‑Card solution in the country.
However, it is not the only UK-based financial institution building out a full Middle East offering. Revolut recently obtained in‑principle approval for a Virtual Assets Service Provider licence, which will allow it to offer digital asset services such as broker‑dealer activity, management and investment, and exchange services.
Like Checkout.com, Revolut already holds several UAE licences but is working through the regulatory steps required to provide all of the services it offers in markets such as the UK.
Motivating both companies is the UAE Central Bank’s FinTech Strategy, as well as national programmes such as the UAE’s 2031 Agenda, which aims to accelerate digital transformation across financial services.
