Ant International Obtains Key Licenses from the Central Bank of the UAE to Support Digital Payments in the AI Era

ABU DHABI, United Arab Emirates--Ant International, a leading global provider of digital payments and financial technology, has secured a Retail Payment Services and Card Schemes (Category II) (RPSCS) license and Stored Value Facilities (SVF) license from the Central Bank of the UAE (CBUAE), aligning with the UAE’s broader agenda for innovation and digital transformation in the financial sector.

“The RPSCS and SVF licenses mark a crucial milestone in Ant International’s efforts to support the UAE’s fintech ecosystem, aligning with the nation’s ‘We are UAE 2031’ digitalisation and fintech strategy,” said Leiming Chen, Chief Sustainability Officer and Senior Vice President of Ant International. “In accordance with the applicable CBUAE regulatory framework, we look forward to launching AI-powered global payment and account solutions to make cross-border payments and financial management more accessible."

Obtaining the RPSCS license is an important step towards Antom, a leading merchant payment and digitisation services provider under Ant International, offering merchant acquiring services in the UAE.

Antom supports over 300 payment methods, enabling merchants to connect with consumers in more than 200 markets and transact in over 140 currencies. Beyond payments, Antom also offers digitisation solutions designed to help merchants drive user engagement. Once launched in the UAE, Antom’s AI-integrated services will help local merchants to serve local and international consumers, both in-store and online, improving the payment experience.

Simultaneously, the SVF license enables WorldFirst, the global account service provider under Ant International, to deliver digitalised and innovative cross-border financial services in the UAE.

This progress underscores a firm commitment to the UAE. Through Alipay+, Ant International’s unified wallet gateway, local merchants can already accept seamless cross-border payments from digital wallet users. In full alignment with the CBUAE framework, this solution continues to operate via established partnerships with locally licensed banks and acquirers, independent of the newly granted licenses.

Ant International processes 20 million daily transactions on average globally. Across Asia, Europe and the Americas, it helps merchants grow through a comprehensive suite of solutions spanning payments and account services, embedded credit, treasury management and other fintech innovations. It also develops agentic payment and account solutions to prepare partners for AI-driven commerce.