UAE exchange houses to start accepting cryptos once regulations are out

Ferg chairman says cryptos need ‘to be part of the payment ecosystem’

Money exchange companies in the UAE will start accepting cryptocurrencies once the regulations are out by the UAE Central Bank, said Adeeb Ahamed, vice-chairman of Foreign Exchange and Remittance Group (Ferg), which comprises companies engaged in the business of money exchange and remittances.

“We are constantly in conversation with the Central Bank and waiting for the regulations. The Central Bank understands the use case of cryptos – CDBC (central bank digital currency). Cryptos is something that has definitely been taken up by the world. It needs to be part of the payment ecosystem. We are very sure that with the regulations coming out by the Central Bank, we will also start accepting,” said Ahamed, who is also managing director of LuLu Financial Holdings (LFH), which operates LuLu Exchange.

Ahamed expects regulations around digital currency are likely to come out later this year or early next year.

In March, the Central Bank of UAE (CBUAE) signed a deal with G42 Cloud and R3 to develop infrastructure for the implementation of the CBUAE Central Bank Digital Currency (CBDC), which is a risk-free form of digital money issued and guaranteed by the central bank and serves as a secure, cost-effective and efficient form of payment and a store of value. CBDC will address the pain points of domestic and cross-border payments and the move towards a cashless society.

While speaking on the sidelines of Ferg’s Techno Meet 23 in Dubai on Wednesday, Ahamed added that exchange houses could no longer be content by being traditional models of doing business. “In the fast era of digitalisation, it is very important that we find partners that make the journey of customers much easier,” he said.