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Alaan announced that it received in-principle approval from the Central Bank of the UAE for Stored Value Facilities and Retail Payment Services licences. The company said in a statement that the authorisations will enable it to issue digital wallets, facilitate prepaid transactions and provide comprehensive payment processing services to businesses across the Emirates. Alaan has established itself as a leading corporate expense management platform in the region after raising $48 million in a Series A round in 2025 and forging partnerships with Visa and Apple Pay for its card products. The move aligns with the fintech’s existing tools that allow instant card issuance, real-time spend controls and integrations with accounting systems such as Xero and QuickBooks.
The Central Bank of the UAE’s regulatory framework defines Stored Value Facilities as mechanisms where customers pay funds in exchange for stored value that can be used for goods, services or transfers to others. A Central Bank of the UAE rulebook assessment found that SVF licensees must maintain paid-up capital of at least 15 million dirhams and aggregate capital funds equivalent to no less than 5 percent of total customer float. Retail Payment Services cover merchant acquiring, payment aggregation and related activities that often complement SVF operations, according to licensing guidance published on the regulator’s site. These requirements form part of a structured process that mandates applicants to demonstrate robust governance, risk management and operational readiness.
Alaan operates a spend management platform that lets businesses issue unlimited virtual and physical corporate cards without personal credit checks while enforcing category limits and automated approvals. The company previously ranked first for expense management software in the Middle East and Africa region in G2’s Grid reports, its press materials stated. Strategic alliances, including a five-year deal with Visa signed in 2024 and a collaboration with neoleap in Saudi Arabia, have supported Alaan’s focus on digitising corporate payments in line with national cashless initiatives. Thursday’s announcement builds on these foundations by adding licensed payment infrastructure.
In-principle approval constitutes an intermediate milestone in the Central Bank of the UAE’s licensing pathway, which a Neo Legal overview of the framework placed at nine to 15 months for well-prepared applications. Following this stage, the applicant must complete operational readiness reviews covering technology infrastructure, AML controls and customer fund protection before final licences are issued. The Central Bank of the UAE may attach conditions to the eventual licence, including heightened capital thresholds or restrictions on business scope, its published rules indicate. Alaan’s statement confirmed the company will now advance through the remaining steps to achieve full compliance.
UAE fintech licensing activity has intensified in recent years as the Central Bank of the UAE processes applications for SVF and RPS authorisations from both local startups and global players such as Revolut. Similar in-principle approvals granted to entities like Kamel Pay in 2025 enabled those firms to prepare full-scale payroll and business payment solutions, according to regulatory filings and industry reports. The framework, updated since its 2020 introduction, excludes single-purpose stored value instruments and offers exemptions for low-risk facilities below specified customer and float thresholds. Alaan’s platform, already serving finance teams with AI-driven automation, stands to incorporate these licensed functions to deepen its service range.
The licences will permit Alaan to hold and transfer customer funds under Central Bank of the UAE supervision while maintaining safeguards for the stored value float. According to the company’s announcement, the approvals enhance its ability to deliver integrated solutions for corporate expense tracking, supplier payments and employee financial services. Alaan’s statement noted that the development follows successful pilots of its core spend management features across UAE and Saudi businesses. The company indicated it will provide further updates as it progresses toward final licensing.
