UAE financial technology company Alaan has received in-principle approval from the Central Bank of the UAE for Stored Value Facilities and Category II Retail Payment Services licenses.
The approvals move Alaan closer to bringing more of its payment infrastructure under its own regulatory permissions. Subject to completing the central bank’s remaining requirements and obtaining final licenses, the company expects to hold customer funds, provide cross-border payment services and issue corporate payment cards under CBUAE supervision.
Alaan announced the development as it marked four years of operating in the UAE. The company currently provides corporate cards and software designed to help finance departments manage expenses, approvals, receipts and accounting records.
Approval Remains Subject to Final Licensing
An in-principle approval is an important regulatory step, but it is not the same as authorization to begin every activity covered by a final license. The CBUAE’s licensing guidance says applicants that receive preliminary approval must satisfy the conditions set out in their approval letter before the application is considered successful.
Those conditions must generally be completed within one year of the in-principle approval letter. Requirements can vary by applicant and license type, covering areas such as governance, financial resources, risk controls, technology, customer protection and broader regulatory compliance.
Alaan said the approvals cover a Stored Value Facilities license and a Category II license under the Retail Payment Services and Card Schemes Regulation.
Licenses Would Expand Alaan’s Payment Role
Stored-value facilities allow customers, or parties acting on their behalf, to place money into a facility that can later be used for payments or transfers. The CBUAE’s Stored Value Facilities Regulation establishes licensing and ongoing supervisory requirements for companies providing these services in the UAE.
The regulation also addresses how providers manage customer funds, which it defines as the “float.” Licensed operators are expected to maintain adequate financial resources, protect stored funds, establish risk-management systems and comply with business-conduct and customer-protection obligations. Technology security and controls around money laundering and terrorist financing also form part of the framework.
Retail payment licensing covers a separate set of activities. The central bank’s Category II rules apply to providers seeking to offer services that may include payment-account issuance, payment-instrument issuance, merchant acquiring, payment aggregation, domestic transfers and cross-border transfers.
In practical terms, final authorization could give Alaan greater control over services that have previously depended on licensed partners. The company’s current legal disclosures state that its UAE card is issued by NymCard Payments Services under a Visa license and that Alaan is a financial technology company rather than a bank. Its business account is issued by Ruya Community Islamic Bank.
Alaan Builds on Funding and Regional Expansion
Parthi Duraisamy, Alaan’s co-founder and chief executive, said, “This isn't a milestone we mark and move on from. Once licensed, the Central Bank's standard becomes the standard we build everything to.”
Founded in 2021 by Duraisamy and Karun Kurien, Alaan sells expense-management technology to businesses in the Middle East. Its platform combines employee cards with spending controls, receipt collection, approval processes and links to accounting software. The company says more than 3,000 finance teams use its services, although that customer figure has not been independently audited.
The fintech raised $48 million in a Series A round in August 2025. Peak XV Partners led the investment, with participation from 885 Capital, Y Combinator, 468 Capital, Pioneer Fund and several individual investors. The company said at the time that it planned to invest in artificial intelligence tools and expand its presence across the Middle East.
The company was also included in the UAE’s Future 100 list for 2024, a government-backed program recognizing businesses working in sectors viewed as part of the country’s future economy. The program’s official directory identifies Alaan as a fintech company founded in 2021 and describes its product as an artificial intelligence-powered expense-management platform.
Alaan Moves Toward Final Authorization
Securing final licenses would place more responsibility directly with Alaan as it moves beyond providing software around services delivered by partner institutions. Holding customer money and processing transfers bring obligations that are different from those attached to expense-management software alone.
The CBUAE says its payment regulations are intended to support the safety and efficiency of the UAE’s financial infrastructure. Its payments and settlements framework requires retail payment providers to meet licensing conditions and continuing obligations, while giving the regulator authority over payment services and card schemes operating in the country.
Alaan must still complete the final stage of that process before presenting itself as fully licensed for the newly approved activities.
