Adyen has obtained a Retail Payment Services Category II license from the Central Bank of the UAE (CBUAE). As a result of this newly granted license, the Dutch payments platform receives direct access to handle local payments within the UAE.
Image source: Adyen
Adyen, that revealed its regulatory milestone on June 28, 2026, has been processing transactions within the UAE since 2020. Some of its customers include some of the most popular companies in the UAE such as Careem, Ellington Properties, Gargash Group, Noon and Ziina. The CBUAE license formalizes a more direct regulatory relationship between Adyen and the central bank, replacing structures that previously routed local settlement through partners.
What the license covers
The Category II license is one of four tiers the CBUAE issues under its Retail Payment Services and Card Schemes (RPSCS) Regulation. It is designed for payment companies, as distinct from banks, seeking to offer a broad set of regulated payment services inside the UAE. Holders may provide any combination of payment account issuance, payment instrument issuance, merchant acquiring, payment aggregation, and domestic or cross-border fund transfers.
The license does not extend, however, to Payment Token Services, a category covering regulated activity involving payment tokens, including certain stablecoin-related payment functions. That permission is reserved for Category I, the broader of the two licenses under the framework.
Why Adyen pursued it
Adyen announced that the awarding of this license is an extension of its previously ongoing strategy.
“Adyen has always taken a long-term view toward responsible innovation. Technology alone isn’t enough to serve large enterprises and platforms, it requires a solid, owned foundation that removes middlemen and protects customers from third-party risk. This owned infrastructure means fewer risks, more control, and the ability to scale with speed and confidence. Securing our license in the UAE is a continuation of this commitment, underscoring our focus on compliant growth in the region. This license ensures that our expansion in the UAE will continue to advance in close alignment with regulatory frameworks, laying the groundwork for future advancements in financial technology.”
Mariëtte Swart, Chief Risk and Compliance Officer at Adyen
Adyen team also mentioned the license supports its work on fraud prevention, emerging payment methods, and unified commerce in the UAE, and lays groundwork for future technology, including agentic AI applications. the company has just solidified its interest in the latter with the newly-launched Adyen Agentic, a suite of APIs designed to help enterprise merchants sell through conversational AI platforms without having to rebuild their commerce infrastructure for every emerging channel.
“The UAE is a dynamic market for digital commerce, this license marks a major step forward in our growth journey. We can now offer even greater control, reliability and innovation through our local operations, while maintaining the same single platform approach. This complements the country’s wider push to accelerate its digital economy”
Daumantas Grigaravicius, Head of Middle East at Adyen
Where Adyen fits among Category II holders
Adyen joins a growing list of Category II licensees. NymCard Payment Services and PayBy Technology Projects were among the earliest fintechs to receive the license, and Nuvei secured its own Category II authorization in 2024. The most recent company to join the list of licensed payment processors was Revolut in mid-June 2026 when they received both a Stored Value Facilities license and a Category II Retail Payment Services licence from CBUAE, which was initially approved in September 2025.
These companies occupy different positions within the UAE market. PayBy, backed by Astra Tech, has built a consumer-facing wallet and super-app ecosystem spanning bill payments, remittances, and merchant QR transactions, and has cited millions of registered users. NymCard operates as B2B infrastructure, supplying card issuing, processing, and embedded finance APIs to banks and fintechs across the region rather than serving consumers directly. Nuvei’s UAE license, granted in 2024, supports its enterprise merchant base in sectors such as travel, gaming, and e-commerce, though its local merchant footprint remains smaller than that of domestic incumbents.
Category II status is separate from overall acquiring market share in the UAE, where Network International, Checkout.com, Amazon Payment Services, Telr, and PayTabs remain among the largest processors by merchant volume, operating under various licensing arrangements.
