Paysend Secures UAE Central Bank Approval to Launch Middle East Payments Hub - FF News

Paysend has received approval from the Central Bank of the UAE to establish a payments hub in the country, according to FF News. The move gives the UK-based payments firm a regulated footing in the Middle East, a region that handles substantial cross-border remittance flows, particularly between the Gulf, South Asia, and Africa.

For the wider payments sector, the approval is a reminder that regulatory licensing remains the key gateway to expansion in the Gulf. The UAE has positioned itself as a hub for fintech and money movement, and central bank approval signals that Paysend can operate within that framework rather than relying on partner arrangements. The specifics of the licence, its conditions, and the timeline for launching services have not been detailed in the summary.

What to watch: how quickly Paysend builds out the hub, which corridors it prioritises, and whether the approval prompts similar licensing moves by competing remittance and payments providers targeting the region.