Ant International Obtains Key Licenses from the Central Bank of the UAE to Support Digital Payments in the AI Era

Ant International, a leading global provider of digital payments and financial technology, has secured a Retail Payment Services and Card Schemes (Category II) (RPSCS) license and Stored Value Facilities (SVF) license from the Central Bank of the UAE (CBUAE), aligning with the UAE’s broader agenda for innovation and digital transformation in the financial sector.

“The RPSCS and SVF licenses mark a crucial milestone in Ant International’s efforts to support the UAE’s fintech ecosystem, aligning with the nation’s ‘We are UAE 2031’ digitalisation and fintech strategy,” said Leiming Chen, Chief Sustainability Officer and Senior Vice President of Ant International. “In accordance with the applicable CBUAE regulatory framework, we look forward to launching AI-powered global payment and account solutions to make cross-border payments and financial management more accessible."

Obtaining the RPSCS license is an important step towards Antom, a leading merchant payment and digitisation services provider under Ant International, offering merchant acquiring services in the UAE.

Antom supports over 300 payment methods, enabling merchants to connect with consumers in more than 200 markets and transact in over 140 currencies. Beyond payments, Antom also offers digitisation solutions designed to help merchants drive user engagement. Once launched in the UAE, Antom’s AI-integrated services will help local merchants to serve local and international consumers, both in-store and online, improving the payment experience.

Simultaneously, the SVF license enables WorldFirst, the global account service provider under Ant International, to deliver digitalised and innovative cross-border financial services in the UAE.

This progress underscores a firm commitment to the UAE. Through Alipay+, Ant International’s unified wallet gateway, local merchants can already accept seamless cross-border payments from digital wallet users. In full alignment with the CBUAE framework, this solution continues to operate via established partnerships with locally licensed banks and acquirers, independent of the newly granted licenses.

Ant International processes 20 million daily transactions on average globally. Across Asia, Europe and the Americas, it helps merchants grow through a comprehensive suite of solutions spanning payments and account services, embedded credit, treasury management and other fintech innovations. It also develops agentic payment and account solutions to prepare partners for AI-driven commerce.

About Ant International

Ant International helps businesses to thrive through a full stack of AI-native payment, account, foreign exchange, treasury and growth solutions, underpinned by our trusted foundation models, security architecture, blockchain RTP platform and a world-leading mobile payment ecosystem. We drive relentless innovation to bring inclusive growth for merchants and communities of all sizes, today and tomorrow. To learn more, visit https://www.ant-intl.com/.

About Antom

Ant International's Antom is a leading payment and digitisation services provider for merchants around the world. It delivers full-stack, AI-native payment solutions to businesses of all sizes, built on Ant International’s foundation models, security architecture, blockchain RTP platform and a world-leading mobile payment ecosystem. Antom supports merchants to enable over 300 payment methods through one integration, reaching consumers in more than 200 markets, with the flexibility to accept payments in more than 140 currencies. Its capabilities also extend to digitisation services, agentic payment and agentic commerce solutions, helping merchants thrive in the AI era. To learn more, please visit https://www.antom.com/.

About WorldFirst

WorldFirst is Ant International's global account service provider. It simplifies key financial operations, including international payments, collections, currency conversions, and treasury management, all via one unified account. Leveraging the technological strengths of its parent company, Ant International, WorldFirst delivers industry-leading transaction security and reliability. WorldFirst has supported over 1.6 million customers, enabling payments in 100+ currencies across more than 210 countries and regions. Learn more about WorldFirst at https://www.worldfirst.com.

This press release is for information purposes only and does not constitute, and should not be construed as, an approval, endorsement, or recommendation by the Central Bank of the UAE (CBUAE). Ant International’s licensed activities remain subject to all applicable CBUAE regulations and supervisory requirements.

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