Fintech Galaxy has received in-principle approval from the Central Bank of the UAE to operate as an Open Finance provider in the UAE, clearing a formal regulatory hurdle on the path to full participation in the country’s Al Tareq Open Finance scheme. The company describes the approval as a defining milestone and says it is one of the first home-grown firms to reach this stage.
An in-principle approval is not a full licence. Under the CBUAE’s Open Finance Rulebook, the central bank has a window of no more than sixty working days from the date of notice to issue its decision of approval or rejection. Fintech Galaxy has cleared that gateway, but a full operating licence is the next required step before it can function as a regulated provider within the scheme.
What Al Tareq actually requires
Al Tareq is the UAE’s Open Finance scheme, governing how Open Finance operates in the country. According to Spare’s blog on the scheme, all parties participating in Al Tareq are regulated and licensed by the CBUAE. That means Fintech Galaxy’s in-principle approval, while a necessary step, does not yet confer the right to operate within the scheme. The regulatory path still runs through full licensure.
The scheme is designed to provide a common, regulated framework for secure, consent-based financial data sharing and service initiation across the financial ecosystem. Fintech Galaxy says it plans to sit at the intersection of Open Finance connectivity, AI-powered financial intelligence, and digital business finance, though those plans are conditional on obtaining the full licence that follows in-principle approval.
Fintech Galaxy open finance UAE strategy: what the company says it will build
Once fully licensed, the company says it plans to deliver an integrated platform combining Open Finance connectivity, AI-powered financial intelligence, and digital business finance solutions. The stated aim is to help financial institutions and fintechs accelerate innovation, develop more intelligent customer experiences, and unlock new revenue opportunities. These are the company’s own characterisations of its intended offering; the platform does not yet exist in its described form.
SMEs are a particular stated focus. Fintech Galaxy says it is developing a business financial management platform intended to bring banking, invoicing, payments, reconciliation, cash-flow management, and embedded financing into a single experience, helping SMEs automate financial operations and manage liquidity. The development of this platform is ongoing; no launch date has been disclosed.
Mirna Sleiman, founder and chief executive officer of Fintech Galaxy, framed the approval in broad terms. ‘This is not simply the next chapter for Fintech Galaxy. It is the beginning of a much bigger opportunity for financial services in the UAE and the wider region,’ she said.
Sleiman added: ‘Over the past year, we focused on building the foundations for what comes next. We strengthened our business, enhanced our technology, and aligned our strategy with the future of financial services. Today, we return with a renewed purpose: to help financial institutions unlock the full potential of Open Finance and artificial intelligence while supporting the UAE’s vision of becoming one of the world’s leading digital economies. We extend our sincere appreciation to the Central Bank of the UAE for its guidance throughout the licensing process and for its continued commitment to fostering a secure, innovative, and competitive financial ecosystem.’
The company intends, it says, to work alongside regulators, financial institutions, fintechs, and ecosystem partners as Open Finance evolves from data connectivity into what it describes as intelligent financial infrastructure. Whether the platform delivers on that framing will depend on what happens after the full licence lands.
The next concrete milestone is the CBUAE’s full licensing decision. Until that is issued, Fintech Galaxy’s Fintech Galaxy open finance UAE position remains that of an approved applicant, not a regulated operator within Al Tareq.
