Financial services licensing in the UAE

The four regimes

• DFSA — the DIFC — category-based licensing for asset managers, fund managers, advisers, arrangers, brokers and banks operating in or from the Dubai International Financial Centre, under an English-law-based framework and DIFC Courts.
• FSRA — the ADGM — Abu Dhabi Global Market's regulator, functionally similar categories, often more cost-competitive, and the region's most established virtual-asset framework (since 2018).
• CBUAE — onshore — banking, finance companies, and the Retail Payment Services and SVF regimes for the mainland market.
• CMA — securities onshore — securities and commodities activity in the onshore UAE, including its emerging virtual-asset role.

Which one you need follows your clients and your activity — and increasingly the right answer is a dual structure: a financial-centre entity for international business, an onshore licence for the mainland market. See the full regulator comparison.

What we do for you

• Regulator & category selection — the perimeter analysis, capital modelling and honest comparison before anything is filed.
• The regulatory business plan — the document the whole application stands on: business model, financial projections, governance, risk and compliance frameworks.
• The application & regulator dialogue — drafting, filing, responding to review rounds, through in-principle approval to final licence.
• Build-out — incorporation, capitalisation, senior-officer appointments (SEO, Compliance Officer, MLRO), policies and systems.
• Post-authorisation — variations, new products, prudential returns and supervisory dialogue.

Why Neo Legal for licensing

Financial-services licensing is the core of the practice: our regulatory team has published the most complete public library of UAE licensing guidance anywhere — 28+ guides, a live licensing tracker and category tools — because we do this work daily. Founder Harly Zappino has advised 1,000+ clients across financial services and virtual assets since 2015. Partner-led, fixed-fee where possible, and the UAE practice of Cornwalls (established 1891).