UAE Finfluencer Licence: Scope, Regulators and Checks
The UAE’s finfluencer regime covers financial recommendations. Creators and brands need to check the activity, regulator and permits involved.
A video recommending a financial product creates a different compliance question from an ordinary brand promotion. Calling the speaker an influencer does not resolve it. The content, the product and the relevant jurisdiction matter.
What the 2025 launch established
The Securities and Commodities Authority announced its finfluencer licence on May 28, 2025. It described a registration framework for individuals making financial or investment recommendations about regulated products or entities through digital and traditional media.
The regulator’s current website uses the name Capital Market Authority, or CMA. Its finfluencer register page identifies Resolution 10/R.M of 2025 and describes recommendations involving buying, selling or holding financial products or virtual assets, alongside advice about financial services.
That scope extends beyond a sponsored Instagram post. The CMA description includes written and audio media, blogs, seminars, public appearances and analysis of value, price or expected performance.
Check the jurisdiction before the licence
Article 2 of the finfluencer resolution covers individuals in the mainland giving financial recommendations about domestic or overseas products and services. It also addresses recommendations about Authority-regulated products and entities, and issuers or licensed entities contracting with a finfluencer.
The same article excludes a natural person providing a financial recommendation within a UAE financial free zone. DIFC has the Dubai Financial Services Authority; ADGM has its Financial Services Regulatory Authority and its own framework.
For a campaign connected with DIFC or ADGM, check the applicable financial-promotion and authorisation requirements with the relevant regulator. Do not assume that a federal finfluencer registration settles those separate questions.
The same care applies to the content itself. The official description concerns financial recommendations and regulated products or services. It does not justify the claim that any commentary on property prices automatically qualifies for this particular licence.
Registration comes with disclosure duties
Article 5 requires the registration number on recommendations and the platforms carrying them. It also requires disclosure of compensation and conflicts of interest, a distinction between facts and opinions, and a balanced account of risks. Approval is not a promise that a recommended investment will make money.
Article 6 gives issuers and licensed entities their own duties when commissioning a finfluencer: verify registration and review the proposed recommendation for compliance before publication. The brand cannot leave every check to the creator.
Advertising permits are a separate check
The National Media Authority separately offers an individual advertising and media-content permit. Its service description covers content published through social accounts, websites and other digital platforms, with or without payment.
It also has a visitor advertising permit, whose listed process runs through a licensed UAE advertising agency. These media permits and financial authorisation address different activities. Check which requirements apply to the creator and the specific assignment.
Digital Boom’s 2018 coverage of influencer licensing records an earlier media-regulation regime. Its fees and deadlines should not be used as current application instructions.
Use the current application terms
At launch, the SCA announced a three-year waiver of registration, renewal and related legal-consultation fees. That dated announcement is not a promise that every new applicant starts a fresh three-year free period today.
The CMA website’s renewal service describes annual registration renewal and lists supporting documents. Check the current service and the regulator’s requirements before submitting an application. This article does not promise a processing time or replace a decision on eligibility.
For a brand commissioning financial content, the useful first step is to write down what the creator will recommend and which product or service the campaign promotes. Verify the relevant authorisation against that brief before agreeing the work. A large audience does not answer a licensing question.
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