Crypto.com wins UAE SVF license to process fovernment fees
Central Bank grants SVF license to Crypto.com’s Foris DAX unit, allowing residents to pay government fees with virtual assets and settle in dirhams or dirham-backed stablecoins.
Crypto.com has become the first virtual asset service provider to receive a Stored Value Facilities (SVF) license from the Central Bank of the United Arab Emirates. The Central Bank issued the permit to Foris DAX Middle East FZE, the company’s local unit.
The license allows the local unit to enable UAE residents to pay government fees using virtual assets. Under the SVF framework, all financial settlements must be processed in UAE dirhams or in dirham-backed stablecoins approved by the Central Bank.
The permit clears a regulatory requirement for a memorandum of understanding signed in May between Crypto.com and the Dubai Department of Finance and moves that agreement toward implementation. Residents who want to use the payment option must first onboard through Crypto.com’s platform.
Crypto.com also holds a license from Dubai’s Virtual Assets Regulatory Authority, giving it dual regulatory standing in the emirate. The company has identified planned integrations with Emirates Airlines and Dubai Duty Free as possible next steps pending further Central Bank approvals.
Mohammed Al Hakim, head of Crypto.com in the UAE and Bahrain, said the approval will allow the company to provide exclusive digital asset payment services for Dubai government fees to residents in the UAE.
The SVF license aligns with the Dubai Cashless Strategy, launched in October 2024 under Crown Prince Sheikh Hamdan, which sets a target for 90% of public and private sector transactions to be digital by year-end. As the first VASP to obtain an SVF license from the Central Bank, Crypto.com is currently the only provider authorized to process government-fee payments in virtual assets in the UAE.
