Islamic digital bank Mal gets UAE central bank approval for banking licence
Abu Dhabi-based Mal has received in-principle approval from the Central Bank of the UAE to establish a licensed bank, moving the Islamic fintech one step closer to launching what it describes as a global Shariah-compliant financial services platform.
The approval was granted following what the central bank described as a rigorous and highly selective regulatory process. It comes on the heels of a $230 million seed round that was billed as the largest fintech seed round across the Middle East and Africa, a raise that established Mal as the most capitalised new banking entrant the region has seen.
Mal is positioning itself as a mobile-first, AI-native Islamic digital bank with a focus on underbanked communities globally. Mal Bank will operate through the wider Mal Group ecosystem, spanning banking, wealth, payments, and embedded finance, targeting the $7 trillion Islamic finance space.
"We are committed to working hard to launch the world's leading Islamic digital bank from the UAE with a mission rooted in ethical finance," said Abdallah Abu-Sheikh, CEO and founder of Mal.
