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Trusted Partnership: CBD Offers Easy access to Banking Transactions and Services for UAE SMEs

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Commercial Bank of Dubai (CBD) is a UAE-based banking and financial services corporation headquartered in Dubai. CBD is ranked as the number one bank in the UAE on the Forbes list of World’s Best Banks 2022. Amit Malhotra, General Manager – Personal Banking Group, at CBD speaks about the bank’s relationship with SMEs and specific products.

What role the CBD, as one of the longest established banks in the country, has played in helping SMEs to grow and thrive?

As a financial solution provider, we firmly believe in backing our customer’s ambitions. At CBD, we recognize that SMEs are the backbone of the UAE’s economy, accounting for around 94 percent of businesses in the country and they must get the right support to grow and expand their businesses.

As one of the first and most reputed banks in the UAE, CBD has always differentiated itself from the other competitors by truly being a bank focused on family-owned and managed businesses across the Emirates in the UAE. Over the years, it has supported numerous small and medium enterprises that have later grown with us to become large corporates.

Amit Malhotra, General Manager – Personal Banking Group, at CBD

Further, we have partnered with several government entities such as the Dubai Economic Department and Free zones such as JAFZA, DMCC, DCAA, and RAKEZ to offer a full suite of products that are specially tailored for the SME segment to fulfill their business requirements and back their ambitions.

What are the business solutions you offer for newly onboarded SMEs at CBD?

CBD provides SMEs with a wide range of solutions. We offer instant digital business accounts through our state-of-art, CBD Rise Digital account opening platform enabling SMEs to get access to banking transactions and services instantly. The digital business account offers attractive features such as no minimum balance requirement and a choice of six account currency denominations, as well as a complimentary business debit card with high daily cash withdrawal limits.

We offer SMEs fast and easy access to secured business loans and a wide array of financing solutions that suit their business needs. Our SME customers can avail of competitive rates on money transfers, remittances, and foreign currency exchange.

CBD also provides SMEs with experienced business banking relationship managers to provide them with the required advice, guidance, and individual client support.

Give us some insight into other business financing services you offer and their eligibility criteria

CBD provides SMEs with a comprehensive portfolio of financing solutions that include regular working capital facilities, collateral-free business term loans, business credit cards, overdrafts, and lots more.

Our business term loan is an award-winning product, which offers an advisory tool that helps SMEs manage their finances and supports their business growth through a customized business finance package. It combines purpose-specific business products which allows them to better manage their business growth efficiently, thus saving time and money by applying for one comprehensive and affordable solution instead of multiple loan facilities.

We offer SMEs market-leading financing facilities with high loan amounts, flexible repayment options, low-interest rates, and fast approvals granted within 48 hours of the application’s submission. Our facilities also include quick business loans for retailers and online trading and service sector businesses against their point of sale (POS) machines’ proceeds which can be easily repaid through monthly installments of sales proceeds collected from the POS machines.

Tell us a bit about the next few years’ growth prospects of SMEs in the UAE

After facing unprecedented challenges in the wake of the Covid-19 pandemic, 88% of SMEs in the UAE are optimistic about the next 12 months, according to the latest research study conducted by MasterCard, published in the 2021 Mastercard Economic Outlook.

The study also showed that 73% of UAE consumers are shopping more online than they did since the start of the pandemic and 97% of UAE shoppers would consider making a purchase with an emerging payment technology over the next year.

CBD has been pioneering this digital transformation and provides its customers with a wide range of digital tools that enable them to accept online payments as well as accept payments through POS and is well-positioned to meet the evolving digital needs of consumers.

In line with our purpose to back the nation’s ambitions, we will continue to support our SME customers, ensuring they get access to the financial and banking products they require to set up and grow their businesses.

Any new product or service initiated by CBD to grow its SME sector engagements

CBD launched its unique digital instant business account for SME customers through the CBD Rise Digital platform, offering four feature-rich business bank account packages that are not only value-packed but also designed to meet customers’ everyday banking needs and deliver a better banking experience.

CBD offers exclusive financing facilities, including unsecured loans of up to AED 2 million, with flexible repayment options of up to 48 months, low-interest rates, and fast approvals granted within 48 hours of the application’s submission. The benefits also include quick business loans for retailers and online trading and service sector businesses against their POS proceeds, with finance amounts up to AED 1 million. The loan payments can be easily repaid through monthly installments of sales proceeds collected from the points of sale.

SME customers can avail of CBD business credit cards with features that meet their personal and business needs such as free for life cards with credit limits of up to AED 250,000, a cash advance facility of up to 50% of the credit limit for urgent expenses, access to a flexible line of revolving credit and more.

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MultiBank Group and Khabib Nurmagomedov Launch an Exclusive Worldwide Multi-Billion-Dollar Joint Venture to Build the World’s First Regulated Tokenized Sports Ecosystem

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Multibank Group, the financial derivatives institution, has entered into an exclusive worldwide multi-billion-dollar joint venture with global sports icon and undefeated UFC champion Khabib Nurmagomedov (29-0) to create a first-of-its-kind regulated ecosystem connecting global finance, sports and technology.

The partnership will culminate in the creation of a multi-billion-dollar joint venture, MultiBank Khabib LLC, uniting two global powerhouses: MultiBank Group, a leader in regulated financial excellence, and Khabib Nurmagomedov, undefeated in the octagon and whose influence extends far beyond sport. The company will operate from MultiBank Group’s headquarters in Dubai, building a worldwide network of high-end sports ventures and real-world digital assets. This structure fulfills the vision of MultiBank Group Founder and Chairman, Naser Taher, for an exclusive global joint venture, granting MultiBank exclusive rights to develop and promote projects under the Khabib Nurmagomedov brand name, including the development of 30 state of the art Khabib gyms, Gameplan and Eagle FC brands.

The entire venture is backed by MultiBank Group’s regulated digital ecosystem and powered by its cornerstone $MBG Token being the driving force behind its expanding portfolio of real-world-asset (RWA) technologies and initiatives.

 Naser Taher, Founder and Chairman of MultiBank Group, stated: “From the UAE, we are shaping a new blueprint for the business of sport through the regulated tokenization of real-world sports assets (RWSA). Together with Khabib Nurmagomedov, and powered by our ecosystem token, $MBG, we are uniting finance and athletics into a single transparent, technology-driven ecosystem — one built on trust, innovation, and the strength of the MultiBank framework. This initiative proudly aligns with the UAE’s vision of becoming a global hub for digital asset innovation and world-class sports.

Khabib Nurmagomedov added: “This partnership with MultiBank Group is built on shared values of strength, respect, and discipline. Together with Multibank, we are building real global opportunities that go beyond sport, empowering athletes, and fans through a regulated and innovative digital ecosystem. This is only the beginning.”

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Edenred UAE strengthens market leadership with financially inclusive payroll solutions, C3Pay serving 2.5 million users

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Edenred, a leading digital platform for services and specific purpose payments and the undisputed market leader in salary processing and financial inclusion for the underbanked in the UAE, continues to reinforce its leading position in payroll card solutions, value-added financial services, and compliance-first innovation under the leadership of newly appointed Managing Director Claudio Di Zanni.

As the first company authorised by the Central Bank of the UAE to process WPS salaries, Edenred UAE has long positioned financial inclusion as the foundation of its offer in UAE — ensuring that access to financial services isn’t an added benefit, but a guaranteed outcome of getting paid. 

Trusted by both large enterprises and a growing base of SMEs, the backbone of the UAE economy, Edenred UAE now serves more than 15,000 corporate clients, 2.5 million cardholders, and partners with over 10 banks and 20 financial institutions. Demand has been strong in sectors such as manufacturing, construction, and facility management—where reliability and seamless execution are critical.

Edenred UAE salary cards, C3Pay, powered by RAKBANK and part of the Mastercard network, can be used globally. A key driver of Edenred’s adoption success is its unmatched expertise in on-site training at worker accommodations, which helps large enterprises efficiently onboard thousands of employees. This ensures that workers understand how to activate their cards, utilise app features, and engage with key financial tools.

Claudio Di Zanni, Managing Director, Edenred Middle East, said: “Edenred UAE has set the benchmark for payroll and financial access in the region with digital innovative solutions, great ambitions and internationally committed teams. Our ambition now is to extend that lead by deepening trust with our clients, scaling services that matter to end users, and ensuring full compliance in a fast-evolving regulatory landscape. With unmatched reach, an expanding client base, and a proven model for financial inclusion, we are ready to shape the next phase of the region’s salary card ecosystem — developing its full potential and contributing to giving workers who were previously excluded from the financial system a secure, transparent, and dignified way to manage their money.

Edenred UAE remains the reference in payroll solutions, as it continues to scale high-impact services, deepen banking partnerships, and reinforce its role as the benchmark for secure, compliant, and ethical financial access in the UAE and beyond. With a sharpened focus on innovation and strengthened leadership, it is entering a new chapter of platform excellence as the backbone of financial access for the UAE’s workforce.

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Dhruva urges UAE firms to focus on data sovereignty in e-Invoicing transition

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The 2026 mandate is an opportunity for businesses to align compliance with stronger data governance standards

With the UAE’s mandatory eInvoicing framework set to launch in 2026, Dhruva urges taxpayers to move beyond data residency considerations and focus on the critical issue of data sovereignty when selecting accredited service providers (ASPs). When adopting any cloud solution, it’s crucial to take the UAE National Cloud Security Policy into consideration, which provides a comprehensive checklist for cloud customers. This policy details necessary arrangements with cloud service providers, outlines contract requirements and sets cloud security requirements and enforcement measures.Dhruva is a leading tax advisory firm specializing in VAT, corporate tax, transfer pricing, and international taxation in the Middle East.

The eInvoicing rollout, based on the OpenPeppol five-corner model, will route all business-to-business (B2B) and business-to-government (B2G) invoices through ASPs that validate, exchange, and report tax-relevant data directly to the Federal Tax Authority (FTA). This shift makes the question of where data lives and who ultimately controls it – a matter of legal, operational, and financial consequence.

Commenting on the development, Nimish Goel, Partner and Head of GCC, Dhruva Consultants, said: “Businesses cannot afford to mix data residency with sovereignty. Hosting tax data within UAE data centres is necessary, but it does not, by itself, guarantee compliance or protection. True sovereignty means that encryption keys, administrative controls, and audit logs remain fully under UAE jurisdiction and cannot be accessed by foreign authorities. For taxpayers, this distinction is not technical—it is a fundamental risk-management decision.”

Dhruva highlights that this distinction is becoming urgent for three reasons. First, the UAE has enacted a robust Federal Data Protection Law (PDPL) and sector-specific rules that demand explicit safeguards on cross-border data flows. Second, with eInvoicing deadlines approaching, taxpayers must evaluate how each provider’s hosting model aligns with UAE data hosting requirements, sovereignty and National Cloud Security Policy laws. Finally, the operational reality is that migrating data and applications between clouds is not seamless. Factors such as data gravity, proprietary platforms, and audit trail integrity make switching providers slow, risky, and expensive.

“E-invoicing will not only redefine how businesses transact with government authorities, but also how they safeguard their most sensitive tax and financial records,” Goel added. “Companies need to recognise that the choice of ASP is a long-term strategic decision. The location of the cloud operator, the jurisdiction under which they fall, and the location of their control plane and encryption keys all impact compliance and data security far more than the physical location of the server rack.”

Dhruva advises taxpayers to approach ASP selection with a structured due-diligence process aligned with the policy for cloud customers in the UAE. This policy covers key domains such as governance, data location and sovereignty, interoperability, security incident and access management, data confidentiality, architecture and infrastructure companies should ensure that all storage, backups, and logs are held within UAE borders, that operational control and key management remain in UAE jurisdiction, and that providers comply with the UAE’s Peppol interoperability standard. Audit logs should be immutable, recovery sites must be located in the country, and exit strategies need to be documented and tested, with transparency on egress costs.

“Taxpayers cannot treat this as a simple IT procurement,” Goel emphasized. “It is a compliance and sovereignty choice that will determine their risk exposure for years to come. The time to ask these questions is now—before companies find themselves locked into providers that may not meet their future regulatory and operational needs.”

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