Revolut Adds VARA Crypto Approval To UAE Payments Licences
PYMNTS reported that Revolut received in-principle VARA approval for a UAE VASP licence, weeks after Central Bank of the UAE payment licences. PYMNTS said final approval is still required, with the UAE launch date, crypto pricing and first customer numbers outside the public record.
A preliminary VARA approval gives Revolut a second UAE regulatory track, adding virtual-asset permissions to the payments licences the company received from the Central Bank of the UAE in June.
PYMNTS wrote that Revolut secured in-principle approval for a Virtual Assets Service Provider licence from Dubai's Virtual Assets Regulatory Authority.
The approval remains conditional on final regulatory sign-off before the services can be offered in the UAE.
VARA Approval Covers Broker-Dealer And Exchange Services
If final approval is granted, the VASP licence would allow broker-dealer, management and investment, and exchange services in the UAE.
Those services would run through Revolut's retail app and the standalone RevolutX exchange.
In the company release, Joseph Khair, head of Revolut Digital Assets FZE in the UAE, stated that the approval supports VARA's goal of a safe, transparent and innovation-driven virtual-assets ecosystem.
His quoted statement described the approval as a foundation for introducing virtual-asset services within a regulated environment.
The crypto approval follows earlier UAE payments permissions.
In June, the article noted that Revolut had received Stored Value Facilities and Retail Payment Services Category II licences from the Central Bank of the UAE.
Central Bank Licences Came Before The UAE App Launch
Following the central-bank licences, Revolut indicated that it was preparing a full-scale UAE launch of its global financial platform.
Once live, the platform would let UAE customers hold and manage multiple currencies, make payments with physical and virtual cards, and send money locally and internationally from one app.
That sequence leaves separate regulatory records for payments and virtual assets in the UAE.
The VASP permission is still subject to final approvals, and the earlier payments update described a planned product launch.
Expansion Plans Extend Beyond The UAE
The UAE moves sit alongside wider market-entry activity beyond the United Kingdom and Europe.
A September account noted that Revolut had been securing licences in several new markets.
Nik Storonsky, co-founder and chief executive, wrote in the company's March annual report that the business had become diversified and profitable at scale.
June coverage cited expansion plans that included a South Africa launch by 2028.
PYMNTS did not report a UAE commercial launch date for the planned services.
