Stablecoins have moved inside the regulatory perimeter in most major financial centres. The EU, the US, Hong Kong, Singapore, Japan and the UAE now treat fiat-backed stablecoins as regulated instruments with licensing, reserve and redemption rules, and the UK is finalising its regime. For GCC payment firms, the question has shifted from whether stablecoins will be regulated to how to use them within the rules of each market.

The UAE: payment tokens under the CBUAE

The CBUAE's Payment Token Services Regulation, issued in June 2024, requires a CBUAE licence to issue dirham-backed payment tokens and limits the use of foreign stablecoins in the UAE mainland to buying virtual assets. Reserves must be held in full and redemption at par must be guaranteed. The first dirham-backed stablecoin, AE Coin, received CBUAE approval in 2024. The financial free zones, ADGM and DIFC, run their own regimes for fiat-referenced tokens. Payment token activity also falls under the 2025 Central Bank Law, whose transition period ended in September 2026.

The global picture

  • United States: the GENIUS Act, signed into law on 18 July 2025, requires payment stablecoin issuers to be licensed, to hold 1:1 reserves in cash and short-dated Treasuries and to publish monthly reserve reports. Regulators are writing the implementing rules.
  • European Union: MiCA's rules for e-money tokens and asset-referenced tokens have applied since 30 June 2024. Issuers need authorisation as a credit institution or e-money institution, and significant tokens face stricter supervision by the EBA.
  • Hong Kong: the Stablecoins Ordinance took effect on 1 August 2025, with HKMA licensing for fiat-referenced stablecoin issuers.
  • Singapore and Japan: MAS finalised its stablecoin framework in 2023, and Japan has regulated stablecoins under its Payment Services Act since 2023.
  • United Kingdom: the FCA and the Bank of England are finalising rules for stablecoin issuance and for systemic stablecoins used in payments.

The rest of the GCC

Bahrain has issued rules for stablecoin issuers through the Central Bank of Bahrain's rulebook. At the time of writing, Saudi Arabia and Qatar had not published stablecoin-specific frameworks comparable to the UAE's, although both regulators are studying tokenisation. Firms working across the GCC should expect these gaps to narrow and should design products that can adapt to each market's rules.

Why this matters for GCC payments

The GCC sends some of the world's largest remittance flows, and cross-border settlement still depends heavily on US dollar correspondent banking. Regulated stablecoins could lower cost and settlement time on some corridors, and card networks are building stablecoin settlement into their products: Mastercard completed its acquisition of stablecoin infrastructure firm BVNK in August 2026. The limits are real, though. Converting to and from local currency, Travel Rule compliance and the UAE's restriction on foreign stablecoins all shape what is possible.

What payment firms should do now

  • Map which stablecoin activities you perform or plan (issuing, holding, transferring, accepting) against the rules in each market where you operate.
  • In the UAE, confirm whether a use case involves dirham payment tokens, which need a CBUAE licence, or foreign stablecoins, whose use is restricted.
  • Extend AML, sanctions screening and Travel Rule controls to on-chain counterparties before launching any stablecoin flow.
  • For corporate and treasury use, assess the credit quality of reserves and the redemption rights of each stablecoin, not only its price stability.