Licensing, authorisation and the compliance that follows

Licensing applications

Clara, our AI assistant, prepares the application for the regulator your business needs, from the regulatory business plan to the policies the regulator expects to see. Our human expert reviews it and manages it as one piece of work, so the regulator reads a consistent story. Each statement in the application is tied to the rule it answers.

Before any of that, the free assessment and the call settle which regulator and which licence category apply. If the answer is that you do not need a licence, we tell you.

Authorisation support

Between submission and decision, the regulator asks questions. The AI assistant drafts the responses, which are reviewed by a human expert. We also prepare your senior staff for any interviews the regulator holds, and track every condition the regulator sets so that nothing is missed before the licence is issued.

Ongoing compliance

A licensed firm has obligations from the day the licence is granted. We provide the functions that meet them.

• Compliance officer and MLRO support. Support for the people who hold these roles in your firm, or the function itself where the regulator's rules allow it to be outsourced. Where a regulator requires the role to be held by a resident individual, the assessment says so.
• Policies and procedures. Drafted by the AI assistant for your business rather than copied from a template, and reviewed by our human expert when the rules change.
• Regulatory reporting. Periodic returns and notifications prepared by the AI assistant, the regulator's correspondence handled by our expert, all logged so that the firm can show what was sent and when.

Licensing by sector

The free assessment works out which regulator and which licence category apply to your business. These are the five sectors we work in, each with its own page.

• Payment services. Retail payment services, stored value and open finance, licensed by the Central Bank of the UAE, the DFSA or the FSRA. Rule RPSCS Art 1, 2; DFSA PIB 3.6.2; FSRA PRU 1.3.5(a)(vi)
• Virtual assets. Exchanges, brokers, custodians, managers and token issuers, licensed by VARA, the UAE Capital Market Authority (UAE CMA), the DFSA or the FSRA. Rule VA Regulations 2023 Schedule 1; UAE CMA VASP General Module Art 2(1); DFSA GEN 3A; FSRA COBS 17
• Fund management. Fund and portfolio managers and fund marketing, licensed by the DFSA, the FSRA or the UAE CMA. Rule DFSA PIB 3.6.2; FSRA PRU 3.3.2; UAE CMA Financial Activities Rulebook Section 2 Annex 1 This includes fund structuring: choosing the vehicle, domicile and manager arrangement with you and preparing the fund's regulatory filings.
• Lending and finance. Finance companies, short-term consumer credit and crowdfunding platforms, licensed by the Central Bank, the DFSA, the FSRA or the UAE CMA. Rule Finance Companies Regulation C 3/2023 Art 6.2, 21; Loan-Based Crowdfunding Regulation Art 2; DFSA PIB 3.6.2; FSRA PRU 3.3.2; UAE CMA Financial Activities Rulebook Section 2 Annex 1
• Insurtech. Insurance comparison, aggregation, embedded distribution and brokerage, licensed by the DFSA, the FSRA or the Central Bank. Rule DFSA GEN 2.19.1(1); FSRA FSMR Schedule 1 para 33(2)(c); Insurance Brokers' Regulation C 1/2024