🇸🇬 Singapore vs 🇦🇪 United Arab Emirates (Dubai - VARA): e-money licensing compared

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Decision context and regulator route

Singapore and United Arab Emirates (Dubai - VARA) are commonly considered side by side for e-money authorisation. In Singapore the route is the No EMI. Major Payment Institution (MPI) licence under the Payment Services Act, covering e-money issuance and account issuance. Standard PI for smaller volumes. overseen by Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS).; in United Arab Emirates (Dubai - VARA) it is the No EMI. Stored Value Facility (SVF) licence and Retail Payment Services under the Retail Payment Services and Card Schemes Regulation, federal. under Central Bank of the UAE (CBUAE). Separate from Dubai VARA, which regulates crypto.. The public licence and regulator fields below are open to everyone; the complete sourced comparison is included with access.

Singapore: verified 2026-08-15 · United Arab Emirates (Dubai - VARA): verified 2026-07-15

Dimension	🇸🇬 Singapore analogue partly open Verified 2026-08-15	🇦🇪 United Arab Emirates (Dubai - VARA) analogue partly open Verified 2026-07-15
Licence type	No EMI. Major Payment Institution (MPI) licence under the Payment Services Act, covering e-money issuance and account issuance. Standard PI for smaller volumes. Verified 2026-08-15 Source: Current national regulator authorisation material: https://www.mas.gov.sg/regulation/payments/licensing-for-payment-service-providers	No EMI. Stored Value Facility (SVF) licence and Retail Payment Services under the Retail Payment Services and Card Schemes Regulation, federal. Verified 2026-07-03 Source: CBUAE, https://rulebook.centralbank.ae/en/rulebook/retail-payment-services-and-card-schemes-regulation
Regulator	Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS). Verified 2026-08-15 Source: Current national regulator authorisation material: https://www.mas.gov.sg/regulation/payments/licensing-for-payment-service-providers	Central Bank of the UAE (CBUAE). Separate from Dubai VARA, which regulates crypto. Verified 2026-07-03 Source: CBUAE
Capital requirement	Singapore capital requirement is included in the £349 pass.	United Arab Emirates (Dubai - VARA) capital requirement is included in the £349 pass.
Timeline to authorisation	Singapore timeline to authorisation is included in the £349 pass.	United Arab Emirates (Dubai - VARA) timeline to authorisation is included in the £349 pass.
Local substance	Singapore local substance is included in the £349 pass.	United Arab Emirates (Dubai - VARA) local substance is included in the £349 pass.
Application cost	Singapore application cost is included in the £349 pass.	United Arab Emirates (Dubai - VARA) application cost is included in the £349 pass.
Ongoing cost	Singapore ongoing cost is included in the £349 pass.	United Arab Emirates (Dubai - VARA) ongoing cost is included in the £349 pass.
Passporting	Singapore passporting is included in the £349 pass.	United Arab Emirates (Dubai - VARA) passporting is included in the £349 pass.
EMIs authorised	Singapore emis authorised is included in the £349 pass.	United Arab Emirates (Dubai - VARA) emis authorised is included in the £349 pass.
Key restrictions	Singapore key restrictions is included in the £349 pass.	United Arab Emirates (Dubai - VARA) key restrictions is included in the £349 pass.
Safeguarding	Singapore safeguarding is included in the £349 pass.	United Arab Emirates (Dubai - VARA) safeguarding is included in the £349 pass.
Recent changes	Continuing MAS refinements to the PSA. Verified 2026-07-02 Source: MAS	Transition deadline 16 September 2026 applies to in-scope entities. This traces to Article 184 of Federal Decree-Law No. 6 of 2025 (Article text pending direct confirmation from the CBUAE rulebook) (the new consolidated Central Bank Law, which significantly expanded CBUAE's remit to cover payment services using virtual assets and technology providers facilitating financial services): the law was published in the Official Gazette on 15 September 2025 and took effect the following day, and Article 184 gives all persons newly brought into scope a one-year reconciliation period from that effective date, extendable at the Central Bank's discretion. This is separate from the older, narrower Payment Token Services Regulation (Circular 2/2024, effective 31 August 2024), whose own Article 40 sets a one-year transition period from that regulation's commencement (around 31 August 2025) for firms already providing payment token services when that narrower regulation first took effect; the two transition periods should not be conflated. Verified 2026-07-15 Source: CBUAE Rulebook, Article (40): Transition Period, Payment Token Services Regulation (primary, confirms the narrower/earlier transition and rules it out as the source of the 16 Sep 2026 date): https://rulebook.centralbank.ae/en/rulebook/article-40-transition-period ; independent secondary confirmations of Article 184 / Federal Decree-Law 6 of 2025, one appearing to quote CBUAE's own legislation explainer: https://www.glaco.com/blog/new-cbuae-law-no-6-of-2025-a-consolidated-overhaul-of-the-uae-financial-regulatory/ and https://chambers.com/articles/new-cbuae-law-no-6-of-2025-a-consolidated-overhaul-of-the-uae-financial-regulatory-framework ; original stored source retained: https://cms.law/en/are/legal-updates/the-new-cbuae-payment-token-services-regulation-10-things-you-need-to-know2
Difficulty rating	Singapore difficulty rating is included in the £349 pass.	United Arab Emirates (Dubai - VARA) difficulty rating is included in the £349 pass.

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What changed recently

🇸🇬 Singapore (verified 2026-07-02): Continuing MAS refinements to the PSA.

🇦🇪 United Arab Emirates (Dubai - VARA) (verified 2026-07-15): Transition deadline 16 September 2026 applies to in-scope entities. This traces to Article 184 of Federal Decree-Law No. 6 of 2025 (Article text pending direct confirmation from the CBUAE rulebook) (the new consolidated Central Bank Law, which significantly expanded CBUAE's remit to cover payment services using virtual assets and technology providers facilitating financial services): the law was published in the Official Gazette on 15 September 2025 and took effect the following day, and Article 184 gives all persons newly brought into scope a one-year reconciliation period from that effective date, extendable at the Central Bank's discretion. This is separate from the older, narrower Payment Token Services Regulation (Circular 2/2024, effective 31 August 2024), whose own Article 40 sets a one-year transition period from that regulation's commencement (around 31 August 2025) for firms already providing payment token services when that narrower regulation first took effect; the two transition periods should not be conflated.

Quick answers

Who regulates e-money licensing in Singapore and United Arab Emirates (Dubai - VARA)?

Singapore: Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS).. United Arab Emirates (Dubai - VARA): Central Bank of the UAE (CBUAE). Separate from Dubai VARA, which regulates crypto..

What licence do you need in Singapore compared with United Arab Emirates (Dubai - VARA)?

In Singapore the authorisation route is No EMI. Major Payment Institution (MPI) licence under the Payment Services Act, covering e-money issuance and account issuance. Standard PI for smaller volumes.; in United Arab Emirates (Dubai - VARA) it is No EMI. Stored Value Facility (SVF) licence and Retail Payment Services under the Retail Payment Services and Card Schemes Regulation, federal.. The comparison table on this page lines the two up dimension by dimension.

Where can I see the full Singapore vs United Arab Emirates (Dubai - VARA) comparison?

The interactive benchmark lets you pin either jurisdiction and add up to five peers; a Founder Pass or Pro subscription unlocks every gated figure with its source and verification date. This page stays free at /e-money/compare/singapore-vs-uae-vara.

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Informational only, not legal advice. Every open figure carries its own verification date; verify with qualified counsel before acting.