XTransfer Secures In-Principle CBUAE Approval for a Retail Payment Services Licence

XTransfer, a global B2B cross-border trade payments platform, has received in-principle approval from the Central Bank of the UAE for a Retail Payment Services licence, announced September 3, 2026. Once the pre-issuance conditions are met, the licence will let XTransfer serve mainland UAE clients directly and expand its regulated payment services in the country.

Key takeaways

What the licence actually covers

XTransfer, founded in 2017, focuses specifically on B2B cross-border trade payments rather than consumer or general business payments. The Retail Payment Services licence, once finalised, would let the company support UAE-based businesses engaged in international trade with regulated, compliant payment infrastructure for cross-border transactions, rather than operating through partner arrangements.

The company hasn’t disclosed a specific timeline for completing the pre-issuance conditions or a target date for the licence becoming final.

Why it matters

For UAE businesses trading internationally

XTransfer’s focus on B2B cross-border trade, rather than general payments, is specific: it targets small and medium businesses that need to move money internationally as part of buying or selling goods, a segment often underserved by traditional banking’s cross-border payment options. A regulated UAE presence gives those businesses a compliant local option built specifically for trade payments.

Also, Standard Chartered Becomes First Global Bank to Offer Institutional Bitcoin and Ether Trading in the UAE

For the UAE’s cross-border payments landscape

XTransfer joins a growing list of global payment companies securing CBUAE licences this year, alongside names like Airwallex and Checkout.com. Its scale, more than $60 billion in payment volume and over 1 million SME clients globally, sets it apart from earlier-stage entrants, though its B2B trade focus is narrower than a general-purpose payments platform.

The bottom line

Whether the company’s scale in Asia and Europe translates into meaningful UAE trade-payment volume is the more concrete thing to track once the licence is finalised.

FAQ

Editor’s Take: XTransfer’s scale is real, over $60 billion in global payment volume is not a small number, but this is a narrower, quieter entry than the licensing news UAE Fintech Vibes covers most often. It’s a B2B trade-payments specialist adding a regulated UAE presence to an already-large global footprint, not a new product category or a first-of-its-kind approval.