PhonePe secures in-principle UAE licences for retail payments and stored value

PhonePe has received two in-principle approvals from the UAE central bank—its first overseas licences—to offer retail payment and stored-value services, subject to final approval. The fintech plans integrations with local banks, payment providers and domestic payment rails.

— Source publishedTue, 22 Sept, 2026, 16:48 IST·First seen Tue, 22 Sept, 2026, 16:54 IST·Source Mint · Money

What happened

PhonePe secured in-principle approval from the UAE central bank for retail payment and stored-value licences, its first overseas licences. The

Key facts

  • 2 in-principle licences
  • 72 crore life-to-date registered users
  • 5 crore merchants
  • Over 700 million registered users
  • 50 million merchants

Why this matters

PhonePe’s first overseas regulatory approvals create a credible path to monetise Gulf payment flows, though final licences, merchant adoption and local competition remain key execution tests.

What to watch

  • Timing and conditions of final UAE central-bank licence approvals.
  • Named partnerships with UAE banks, acquirers, payment processors or domestic payment rails.
  • Evidence of UAE merchant onboarding, transaction volumes and consumer active-user growth.
  • Whether PhonePe offers AED wallet balances, local card funding, payroll-linked features or remittance functionality.
  • Competitive responses from e&, Careem Pay, Botim, Noon Payments, local banks, NPCI International and cross-border wallet providers.

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