Business setup / Sector guide
Financial Services business setup in the UAE
Investment, fund and forex/CFD activities are licensed by a financial regulator, not by a trade licensing authority. The choice is between onshore supervision by the Capital Market Authority (CMA, formerly the SCA) and the financial free zones, DIFC under the DFSA or ADGM under the FSRA, each with its own rulebook and capital rules. Purely own-account (proprietary) dealing sits in between: whether it needs a permission depends on the instruments, dealing pattern and venue, and must be confirmed with the competent authority.
What usually decides approvals
Regulatory authorisation, fit-and-proper approval of key individuals and capital requirements apply before any client activity. Client money or assets may only be held under an explicit permission.
Activities in this sector
Fund & Investment Management-Related Setup
Fund management, investment advisory, and related structures commonly established in the UAE financial centres.
Bill & Debt Collection Services
Contacting debtors on behalf of clients to recover unpaid bills, negotiating payment terms and issuing formal notices.
Financial Consultancy
Financial consultancy proposals, including forecasting, working-capital, treasury and financing questions, subject to a precise financial-services perimeter assessment.
Credit Reporting
Credit reporting compiles information used in decisions about a person’s or business’s creditworthiness; it is not ordinary bookkeeping or an unrestricted data-analytics service.
In-depth guides
- Forex trading licensing routes
- Own-account (proprietary) trading
- Client-facing forex brokerage
- DIFC vs ADGM brokerage
- DIFC licensing
- ADGM licensing
- DIFC vs ADGM
- Physical gold and precious-metals setup
- Crypto and virtual-asset business models
Which business model are you planning?
Planning questions, not eligibility confirmation or regulator approval. Confirm current requirements for your activity and location.
| Business model | What to verify |
|---|---|
| Company capital / own-account dealing | There is no blanket regulatory exemption. Assess instruments, dealing pattern, venue and location, and confirm any required permission before trading. Read the relevant guide |
| Introducing, executing or managing client business | Identify each client-facing service and applicable permission. Holding client money or assets requires explicit authorisation; brokerage must not imply custody. Read the relevant guide |
| Currency exchange or remittance | Review the Central Bank route separately from investment forex and CFDs. A financial trading guide is not an exchange-business permission. Read the relevant guide |
Before you choose a route
Is own-account forex trading automatically exempt from financial-services licensing?
No blanket exemption should be assumed. The assessment depends on instruments, dealing pattern, venue, location and the applicable rulebook. Trading the company’s own capital does not by itself settle the perimeter; confirm the required permission before trading.
CMA financial activities definitionsDoes a forex brokerage permission automatically include custody?
No. Client money and client assets may only be held when explicitly authorised under the relevant permission and safeguarding conditions. Review the precise permission set rather than assuming every broker can hold funds.
Brokerage comparison and regulator referencesThese planning answers summarise the linked guides and references; they do not represent a new regulatory approval or a complete legal review.