PhonePe received initial in-principle approval from the Central Bank of the UAE for retail-payment and stored-value services. Final approval is still required before a commercial launch. Moneycontrol and Khaleej Times both report that the UAE would be the company's first market outside India.
PhonePe received initial approval from the Central Bank of the UAE for retail-payment and stored-value services. The approvals cover Retail Payment Services and Card Schemes and Stored Value Facilities licences. Khaleej Times reported in-principle approval for the same two categories. This is not a licence to take customer money tomorrow. A commercial launch still waits on the central bank's final permission, and both accounts say that step has not been granted.[1], [2]
Final approval is required before launch. Khaleej Times likewise said a commercial launch waits on that further permission. Until it arrives, the company has a regulatory step, not an operating payment service in the UAE.[1], [2]
If final permission is granted, the UAE will become the company's first market outside India. PhonePe plans to build local payment infrastructure in the country. Khaleej Times reported the same first-market claim. The plan depends on the final approval that both accounts say is still outstanding.[1], [2]
