Pay by Bank UAE
Open Finance and account-to-account payments in the UAE — what the regulation means and what it enables.
What is pay by bank and Open Finance in the UAE?
Pay-by-bank in the UAE is enabled by the CBUAE Open Finance Regulation (published 15 April 2024, revised Circular 03/2025). It establishes a mandatory Trust Framework and API Hub for licensed banks and insurers to share consumer financial data and initiate payments with consent. This is the legal foundation for account-to-account payment initiation. Consumer-facing pay-by-bank products may not yet be widely available — verify status at CBUAE. remit.ae does not have Open Finance API access.
UAE Open Finance Regulation
Regulation Live — CBUAEThe UAE Open Finance Regulation was published by the Central Bank of UAE (CBUAE) on 15 April 2024, with a revised version issued as Circular No. 03/2025.
Key elements:
- Mandatory for all CBUAE licensees (banks, insurers, finance companies)
- Establishes a Trust Framework for authorising data-sharing and payment initiation
- Creates an API Hub and Common Infrastructural Services
- Phased rollout: starting with banks and insurers
- Enables pay-by-bank — consumers initiate payments directly from their bank account with consent
- Enables consent-based financial data sharing between licensed institutions
Source: CBUAE Open Finance Regulation, 15 April 2024; Circular No. 03/2025. Verify current status at centralbank.ae.
What pay by bank means for consumers
Pay-by-bank (also called account-to-account or A2A payment) allows a consumer to pay a merchant directly from their bank account — no card number is shared, and no card network is involved.
Under Open Finance, this works via consent: you authorise a licensed third party to initiate a payment from your account. Your bank then executes it.
For UAE consumers, this means future services that let you pay online or in-store directly from your bank balance — lower fees than cards, and no card data shared with merchants.
Open Finance vs Aani — what's the difference?
Aani is a live domestic instant payment network (account-to-account within UAE, by mobile number, AED only). Operated by Al Etihad Payments.
Open Finance is a regulatory framework enabling consent-based payment initiation and data sharing across licensed institutions — the broader legal foundation for account-to-account products, including potential pay-by-bank experiences beyond Aani.