RAKBank Secures In-Principle Approval for Dirham Stablecoin
RAKBank’s in-principle nod from the UAE Central Bank clears a major hurdle for a dirham-backed stablecoin and introduces a homegrown banking issuer to an increasingly crowded field. The approval reflects the regulator’s willingness to engage with fiat-pegged digital assets and could accelerate the UAE’s strategy to expand regulated digital-asset infrastructure and payment innovation.
With in-principle approval secured, RAKBank will need to meet final licensing conditions, compliance requirements and technical integration before launching pilots. If approved, the stablecoin could be used for faster domestic settlement, merchant payments and cross-border remittances, while increasing competition among local and international issuers and testing how traditional banks and regulators coordinate on tokenising national currency.