CBUAE’s 2024 achievements drive momentum towards bright future

The Central Bank of the UAE (CBUAE) marked 2024 with significant achievements across the financial, banking, and insurance sectors.

This further sets the stage for a bright future for the UAE’s financial sector and underscores the CBUAE’s pivotal role in fostering monetary and financial stability, managing reserves, developing secure financial infrastructure through cutting-edge digital innovation, stimulating sustainable economic growth, and strengthening the UAE’s global competitiveness and leadership.

In light of the significant progress achieved in building a robust and stable financial system equipped for the modern age, and a new era of digital transformation facilitated by FinTech and innovation initiatives, the CBUAE garnered numerous prestigious local, regional, and international awards. Most recently, the CBUAE received the Leading Federal Entity Award at the Mohammed Bin Rashid Government Excellence Award 2024, embedding excellence as a core value and practice across its operations and activities by adopting integrated strategies and policies aligned with global best practices.

This award, the UAE’s highest award for institutional achievement, is granted to the federal entity that demonstrates the strongest performance across all criteria of the government excellence framework.

Khaled Mohamed Balama, Governor of the CBUAE, was also named “Central Banker of the Year 2024 for the Middle East” by The Banker in recognition of the CBUAE’s concerted efforts to enhance the country’s financial and monetary stability and growth, fortify its anti-money laundering and combating the financing of terrorism (AML/CFT) measures, and increase cooperation with global central banks through several partnership agreements.

Furthermore, the CBUAE won the ‘Best New Banknote’ award for its new Dhs1000 banknote characterised by unique designs, technical characteristics, and innovative security features.

To solidify the UAE’s position as a leading global financial hub, the CBUAE is implementing the FIT Programme, comprising nine key initiatives, with a completion rate of 85%. The FIT Programme projects span several areas aimed at fostering a more efficient and secure financial environment.

Introducing innovation digital payments solutions, the Domestic Card Scheme “Jaywan”, was launched at a celebration marking the CBUAE’s 50th Anniversary (1973-2023), marking the first successful transaction using “Jaywan” cards boasting unique features. The first cross-border payment for the central bank’s digital currency ‘Digital Dirham’ was made directly through the “mBridge” platform.

Other achievements included the launch of the Instant Payment Platform “Aani” and the Real Time Gross Settlement (RTGS) system.

On data sharing, the CBUAE is developing an Open Finance platform to support the comprehensive vision of the UAE to establish global standards for the open finance sector based on successful experiences to provide the strongest open finance mechanism in the world. The UAE is the first country globally to implement a consolidated trust-framework and centralised API hub, which will enable a single secure connection to access the whole of the banking and insurance markets, whilst ensuring that access is only granted, with customer consent, to third parties regulated by the CBUAE.

The CBUAE is also collaborating with the Bank for International Settlements (BIS) Innovation Hub, central banks, and global financial institutions on Project Aperta that aims to connect open finance infrastructures of multiple jurisdictions to advance cross-border interoperability for financial institutions and businesses through a trusted network. This will minimise challenges that businesses face in trade finance when seeking financial products, such as letters of credit, trade credit insurance and supply chain financing from financial institutions.

In a significant step to support national economy, the digital “Know Your Customer” (KYC) platform was launched, providing a secure infrastructure for customer identity verification, further enhancing trust in the business environment and the country’s financial system, and strengthening the UAE’s global competitiveness in FinTech. Other FIT Programme achievements include the launch of a debt market platform and the issuance of five Fintech regulations for the sector.

The UAE’s digital transformation projects aim to attract 260 global FinTech companies as part of a strategy to enhance economic opportunities and improve quality of life. These initiatives also aim to open new markets, attracting 180 million new customers and 600 million e-commerce customers.

In the realm of international cooperation on digital transformation projects, the CBUAE, in partnership with regional and international entities, launched several multi-central bank digital currency projects. These initiatives, such as mBridge and the “UAE Jisr” - Middle East and North Africa, aim to develop and diversify cross-border payment systems, facilitating instant, efficient, and low-cost payments.

Emiratisation in the financial sector remains a strategic priority for the CBUAE. Several initiatives, including the “Ethraa” programme, have been launched to strengthen efforts to develop qualified Emirati professionals, supporting the nation’s economy and its ambitious future plans.

WAM

The Central Bank of the UAE (CBUAE) marked 2024 with significant achievements across the financial, banking, and insurance sectors.

This further sets the stage for a bright future for the UAE’s financial sector and underscores the CBUAE’s pivotal role in fostering monetary and financial stability, managing reserves, developing secure financial infrastructure through cutting-edge digital innovation, stimulating sustainable economic growth, and strengthening the UAE’s global competitiveness and leadership.

In light of the significant progress achieved in building a robust and stable financial system equipped for the modern age, and a new era of digital transformation facilitated by FinTech and innovation initiatives, the CBUAE garnered numerous prestigious local, regional, and international awards. Most recently, the CBUAE received the Leading Federal Entity Award at the Mohammed Bin Rashid Government Excellence Award 2024, embedding excellence as a core value and practice across its operations and activities by adopting integrated strategies and policies aligned with global best practices.

This award, the UAE’s highest award for institutional achievement, is granted to the federal entity that demonstrates the strongest performance across all criteria of the government excellence framework.

Khaled Mohamed Balama, Governor of the CBUAE, was also named “Central Banker of the Year 2024 for the Middle East” by The Banker in recognition of the CBUAE’s concerted efforts to enhance the country’s financial and monetary stability and growth, fortify its anti-money laundering and combating the financing of terrorism (AML/CFT) measures, and increase cooperation with global central banks through several partnership agreements.

Furthermore, the CBUAE won the ‘Best New Banknote’ award for its new Dhs1000 banknote characterised by unique designs, technical characteristics, and innovative security features.

To solidify the UAE’s position as a leading global financial hub, the CBUAE is implementing the FIT Programme, comprising nine key initiatives, with a completion rate of 85%. The FIT Programme projects span several areas aimed at fostering a more efficient and secure financial environment.

Introducing innovation digital payments solutions, the Domestic Card Scheme “Jaywan”, was launched at a celebration marking the CBUAE’s 50th Anniversary (1973-2023), marking the first successful transaction using “Jaywan” cards boasting unique features. The first cross-border payment for the central bank’s digital currency ‘Digital Dirham’ was made directly through the “mBridge” platform.

Other achievements included the launch of the Instant Payment Platform “Aani” and the Real Time Gross Settlement (RTGS) system.

On data sharing, the CBUAE is developing an Open Finance platform to support the comprehensive vision of the UAE to establish global standards for the open finance sector based on successful experiences to provide the strongest open finance mechanism in the world. The UAE is the first country globally to implement a consolidated trust-framework and centralised API hub, which will enable a single secure connection to access the whole of the banking and insurance markets, whilst ensuring that access is only granted, with customer consent, to third parties regulated by the CBUAE.

The CBUAE is also collaborating with the Bank for International Settlements (BIS) Innovation Hub, central banks, and global financial institutions on Project Aperta that aims to connect open finance infrastructures of multiple jurisdictions to advance cross-border interoperability for financial institutions and businesses through a trusted network. This will minimise challenges that businesses face in trade finance when seeking financial products, such as letters of credit, trade credit insurance and supply chain financing from financial institutions.

In a significant step to support national economy, the digital “Know Your Customer” (KYC) platform was launched, providing a secure infrastructure for customer identity verification, further enhancing trust in the business environment and the country’s financial system, and strengthening the UAE’s global competitiveness in FinTech. Other FIT Programme achievements include the launch of a debt market platform and the issuance of five Fintech regulations for the sector.

The UAE’s digital transformation projects aim to attract 260 global FinTech companies as part of a strategy to enhance economic opportunities and improve quality of life. These initiatives also aim to open new markets, attracting 180 million new customers and 600 million e-commerce customers.

In the realm of international cooperation on digital transformation projects, the CBUAE, in partnership with regional and international entities, launched several multi-central bank digital currency projects. These initiatives, such as mBridge and the “UAE Jisr” - Middle East and North Africa, aim to develop and diversify cross-border payment systems, facilitating instant, efficient, and low-cost payments.

Emiratisation in the financial sector remains a strategic priority for the CBUAE. Several initiatives, including the “Ethraa” programme, have been launched to strengthen efforts to develop qualified Emirati professionals, supporting the nation’s economy and its ambitious future plans.

WAM