The Central Bank of the UAE (CBUAE), the Securities and Commodities Authority (SCA), the Dubai Financial Services Authority (DFSA) of the Dubai International Financial Centre (DIFC), and the Financial Services Regulatory Authority (FSRA) of Abu Dhabi Global Market (ADGM) (the Regulators) have jointly launched a four-week public consultation on proposed “Guidelines for Financial Institutions Adopting Enabling Technologies” (the Guidelines).

The consultation launched today sets out cross-sectoral principles and best practices for financial institutions when adopting enabling technologies for the development or offering of innovative products and services. The enabling technologies include: Application Programming Interfaces; Big Data Analytics and Artificial Intelligence; Biometrics; Cloud Computing; and Distributed Ledger Technology.

The objectives of these Guidelines are to promote the safe and sound adoption of these technologies by financial institutions across the UAE, so that the risks arising from the adoption of innovative activities are proactively and appropriately managed.

In drawing up the Guidelines, the Regulators have considered both international standards and industry best practices.

The Guidelines will apply to all financial institutions that are licensed and supervised by any of the Regulators and who utilise the enabling technologies, irrespective of the financial activities conducted.

The Regulators welcome comments on the Guidelines which is planned to be issued in the second half of 2021, subject to the outcome of the public consultation.

To view and download the Guidelines, please click on the following link.

Comments can be sent to [email protected] no later than 30 Jun 2021.