UAE-based Fintech Galaxy has received in-principle approval (IPA) from the Central Bank of the United Arab Emirates (CBUAE) to operate as an open finance provider, marking another step in the fintech company’s expansion across the Middle East and Africa.
The preliminary approval will allow Fintech Galaxy to participate in the UAE’s regulated open finance framework, known as Al Tareq. Once fully licensed, the company will be able to use the framework’s financial-data connectivity to develop services aimed at businesses, particularly small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs).
The approval is significant because the UAE has been building a more structured financial-data ecosystem in which regulated access to customer information can help fintech companies develop more integrated banking and financial-management products.
Open Finance Moves Into SME Financial Management
Fintech Galaxy says its primary focus will be improving how SMEs manage their finances. The company plans to combine its existing AI-powered financial intelligence tools with open finance connectivity to create a more integrated financial-management experience.
Its planned Business Financial Management platform is designed to bring several traditionally separate functions into one system. These include banking, invoicing, payments, reconciliation, cash-flow management and embedded financing.
For smaller businesses, having these functions connected could reduce the amount of manual work involved in tracking money across different platforms. It could also give business owners a more complete picture of their cash position when making financial decisions.
The bigger question is whether open finance can move beyond simply providing access to financial data and become a useful operating layer for businesses. Fintech Galaxy is betting that the combination of data connectivity and AI can make that transition possible.
Full Licensing Remains the Next Milestone
The CBUAE approval is still preliminary. Fintech Galaxy will need to secure full authorisation before it can operate as a licensed open finance provider in the UAE, and the company has not announced a specific timeline for completing that process.
That distinction matters. An in-principle approval signals that a regulator has cleared a company to progress within the framework, but it is not the same as receiving a full operating licence.
For Fintech Galaxy, the next stage will therefore be turning regulatory approval into a commercially useful product while meeting the UAE’s requirements around financial data, security and customer protection.
The company’s previous regulatory activity could provide some experience. Since being established in 2017, Fintech Galaxy has expanded its presence across several Middle Eastern markets. It has secured a Third-Party Provider licence for open banking in Bahrain and received approval to test open banking services in Jordan through the Central Bank of Jordan’s regulatory sandbox.
Building a Regional Open Finance Platform
The UAE approval also fits into a broader strategy by Fintech Galaxy to build financial infrastructure that can operate across multiple markets.
Open banking and open finance have been developing at different speeds across the Middle East, with regulators increasingly establishing frameworks that allow authorised third parties to connect financial institutions and customers through secure data-sharing systems.
For SMEs, that evolution could eventually make financial services more connected and easier to manage. But adoption will depend on more than regulatory access. Businesses will need to see clear benefits, while fintech providers will have to demonstrate that convenience does not come at the expense of security or control over sensitive financial information.
Fintech Galaxy’s in-principle approval gives the company a stronger position in that developing market. The real test will come once it moves from regulatory permission to a fully licensed product that SMEs actually find useful.
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