XTransfer Gets CBUAE In-Principle Nod for UAE Payment Licence

XTransfer has received in-principle approval from the Central Bank of the UAE (CBUAE) for a retail payment services licence. The approval is conditional. CBUAE has set pre-issuance conditions that XTransfer must satisfy before the licence is granted. XTransfer is a Chinese B2B cross-border payments platform, and the services it plans to offer under the licence are aimed at businesses trading internationally.

The decision brings XTransfer closer to serving mainland UAE clients directly. It also allows the company to expand its regulated payment services in the UAE. For a B2B payments firm, this means the existing authorisation network stretches into a major market for re-export trade. XTransfer said the licence will support trade businesses that rely on cross-border payment solutions, including companies operating on the China-Africa corridor.

The UAE is central to XTransfer's Middle East and Africa strategy. The country is a major regional trade and re-export hub. It connects Chinese exporters with buyers across Africa and other emerging markets. Goods do not simply end their journey in the UAE; many are re-exported to other economies in the region. That makes the UAE a gateway where payment providers need a local presence, not just an office.

Bill Deng, founder and CEO of XTransfer, described the CBUAE's conditional approval as a key milestone in the company's global regulatory expansion. Deng said the UAE is one of the world's most important trade hubs and acts as a gateway between Asia, the Middle East and Africa. He added that the approval reinforces XTransfer's confidence in the long-term growth potential of the UAE market. The comments place the licence within a broader push to build a regulated footprint in markets that connect global trade flows.

The UAE licence follows a series of approvals that XTransfer has accumulated in established trade hubs. The company holds licences in Mainland China, Hong Kong SAR, the UK, the US, Singapore, the Netherlands, Australia and Canada. Those licences cover a spread of markets from Asia to North America to Europe. The UAE joins that network as a Middle East anchor, if the remaining conditions are satisfied. XTransfer has said it will continue investing in regulated markets, with the goal of supporting SMEs and trading businesses that need to move money across borders.

The in-principle approval is not the same as a live licence. CBUAE has attached conditions, and the timeline will depend on XTransfer completing them. But the wider point is strategic. The UAE is not just another market on the list; it is the meeting point for trade flows between Chinese exporters, African importers and buyers across emerging markets. A regulated payment licence there would give XTransfer a supervised base on that corridor, which is why this approval matters beyond the Emirates' own borders.