Revolut secured its full UAE Stored Value Facilities and Retail Payment Services licences from CBUAE earlier last month, paving the way for its local launch and broader MENA expansion.
I spoke with Ambareen Musa, CEO for the GCC at Revolut, on the fintech’s expansion and future strategy in the GCC.
What Success in Looks Like the UAE for Revolut?Â
Receiving our Stored Value Facilities (SVF) and Retail Payment Services (Category II) licences from the Central Bank of the UAE is an important milestone for us.
Success means building a trusted local business that delivers real value to customers. The UAE is one of the world’s most internationally connected markets, where people manage multiple currencies and increasingly expect financial services to be seamless, intelligent and global by design.
Our focus is on bringing the Revolut experience to the UAE in a way that reflects local customer needs while continuing to invest in technology, local talent and strong regulatory partnerships.
Ultimately, we’d like to become a trusted financial partner for customers in the UAE while contributing to the country’s vision of being a global leader in financial innovation.Â
Why the UAE?Â
The UAE has established itself as one of the world’s leading financial centres, combining a progressive regulatory environment with a highly international population and an ambitious vision for innovation.
It’s a market that naturally aligns with Revolut’s strengths. People here live global lives, whether that’s travelling frequently, sending money internationally, managing multiple currencies or investing across borders. They expect financial services that fit those lifestyles.
Just as importantly, the UAE has created an ecosystem that encourages innovation while maintaining high regulatory standards. That combination makes it an ideal place for us to establish a long-term presence in the region.
Market Gap in a GCC Context
The GCC has one of the most innovative financial services sectors globally and as financial services continue to evolve, customer expectations continue to rise.Â
Rather than focusing on what exists today, we look at how customer needs are changing.
People’s financial lives are becoming increasingly international and interconnected. They want a single platform that helps them spend and move money globally in a simple and intuitive way.Â
We believe there’s a significant opportunity for companies that continue to innovate around those changing customer expectations. Our ambition is to bring together a range of financial services into one seamless experience that’s designed around how people manage money today.
Foreign Exchange and Cross-Border Transfers
International payments and foreign exchange are certainly an important part of everyday life across the GCC, and they’ve always been one of Revolut’s core strengths.
Our focus remains on delivering an overall experience that’s simple, transparent and designed around the way people live today, particularly in a region as internationally connected as the GCC.
Upcoming GCC Markets
We continue to see the GCC as an attractive region with significant long-term potential. We regularly evaluate opportunities as part of our global growth strategy. Â
The GCC is home to one of the world’s fastest-growing populations of internationally connected consumers. Whether they’re entrepreneurs, professionals or frequent travellers, many manage financial lives that span multiple countries, currencies and markets.
These customers expect financial services that keep pace with the way they live. They want simplicity, transparency and the ability to manage their money seamlessly, whether they’re at home, travelling or supporting family abroad.
That’s where we believe Revolut is well positioned. Our focus is on delivering an intuitive, technology-led experience that simplifies financial management while maintaining the trust, security and reliability customers expect. As the GCC continues to attract global talent and investment, we see a significant opportunity to support customers whose financial needs are increasingly international, with solutions designed around modern, connected lifestyles.
Revolut and the GCC
The GCC is an exciting region for financial innovation – succeeding here means building something that genuinely becomes part of people’s everyday lives.
For us, that starts with delivering consistent value to customers through an experience that feels seamless, intuitive and globally connected. Consumers in this region are highly digital, internationally minded and incredibly engaged with technology, which aligns very naturally with Revolut.
What makes the GCC especially compelling is that there is strong appetite around innovation across the financial ecosystem. Regulators, institutions and technology companies are all contributing to raising the standard of customer experience, and that creates an environment where companies can evolve and build meaningful products for the market.
Localisation is also a huge opportunity. The region is incredibly dynamic and diverse, and that allows us to build experiences that are tailored to how people here actually live – whether that is managing money across borders, travelling frequently, or operating across multiple currencies.
Ultimately, if customers feel that Revolut genuinely simplifies and improves the way they manage their financial lives, growth follows naturally from that.
Stay Up to Date with the Latest Updates at Finance ME
Sarah Al-Shawwaf: Vision 2030 Has Unlocked the Potential of Saudi Women
Mohamed Alabbar: Damascus City to Watch in Next Decade
EDGE’s Rodrigo Torres on Risk, Sovereignty and Defence Finance in a Multipolar World
