The Central Bank of the UAE and the Abu Dhabi Global Market have signed a Memorandum of Understanding for collaboration, the apex bank said in a statement on Wednesday, October 13.
As a result of the MoU, CBUAE and ADGM will collaborate on the development and growth of the FinTech ecosystem in the UAE through joint initiatives and activities, it said.
Under the agreement, CBUAE and ADGM will enhance the collaboration under their co-sandbox program.
This is expected to enable FinTech companies to test their innovative solutions under the existing digital sandbox program.
The agreement also stipulates collaboration on FinTech initiatives and activities between parties.
The activities could include accelerator programs, competitions, workshops, seminars, conferences, and projects.
The MoU was signed by Ahmed Ali Al Sayegh, Minister of State and Chairman of ADGM, and Khaled Mohamed Balama, Governor of CBUAE.
It was part of CBUAE’s inaugural Future of Finance conference, held during Expo 2020 on October 13-14.
Commenting on the agreements, Al Sayegh said, “The Fintech sector is fast shaping the face of the global financial system, requiring coordinated attention by regulators to ensure its robust development and integration.”
He added: “We are confident our continued relations with the CBUAE will result in greater regulatory excellence and further opportunities in the Fintech field for international and local talent alike.”
For his part, Khaled Balama said, “The UAE’s ability to develop a regulatory environment conducive to innovation and digitization is amongst the foremost determinants of the future of its financial system.”
He added: “Our signing of this agreement with ADGM plays an important role in CBUAE’s commitment to enabling greater proliferation of FinTech solutions across the UAE.”
He also said: “We are confident that this agreement will attract key FinTech players to the country and result in an enhanced environment that enables innovation to thrive, in alignment with the nation’s ambitious economic growth plans and digitization aspirations.”