UAE Central Bank to use DLT for trade finance platform

The Central Bank of the UAE (CBUAE) recently launched the CBUAE FinTech Office during FinTech Abu Dhabi 2020, MENA’s largest FinTech Festival which is co-hosted by CBUAE and Abu Dhabi Global Market (ADGM). As per the press release The CBUAE FinTech Office aims to develop a mature FinTech ecosystem within the UAE and position the nation as a foremost FinTech hub regionally and globally. The UAE Central Bank back in November 2019 had announced that they would be launching a fintech office.

H.E. Abdulhamid M. Saeed Alahmadi, Governor of the Central Bank of the UAE, said: “The UAE is no longer on the fringes of the global FinTech revolution but moving toward the center of it. At the CBUAE, we have played a proactive role to build a mature FinTech ecosystem in the country. We are proud to contribute to several of the UAE’s national objectives through the establishment of our FinTech Office as it is a pivotal element of the strategy for advanced innovation. This Office will allow us to accelerate the transformation of digital payments and support financial inclusion. In addition, the CBUAE FinTech Office is mandated to execute the UAE’s FinTech Strategy which is centered on innovation and collaboration.”

The CBUAE FinTech Office will be working hand in hand with the industry and regulatory authorities to embrace innovation and digital transformation whilst promoting a culture of robust risk management. Furthermore, the Office will be supporting in attracting international and regional FinTech companies and providing a platform for all market participants to collaborate and innovate.

In an article posted in UAE the National newspaper, AlAhmadi, speaking at Fintech Abu Dhabi also stated, " this office will allow us to accelerate the transformation of digital payments, we are trying to take all enabling steps for fintech infrastructure such as stored value facilities where users can store money digitally and use it to pay for good and services. We will also set our guidance on new or emerging tech services such as cloud computing, distributed ledger technology, (DLT), biometric technologies, Artificial intelligence and big data among others."

The National article mentioned that the regulator, i.e the Central Bank, is also working with strategic partners to develop a number of digital platforms including a funding solution for small and medium sized corporate and a distributed technology ledger trade finance platform.