Commercial Bank of Dubai has become the first bank in the UAE to let customers initiate payments from accounts held at other banks directly through its own mobile app, marking a significant step forward in the country's Open Finance rollout.
The capability follows CBD's approval from the Central Bank of the UAE to operate as a Third-Party Provider under the national Open Finance Initiative, making it one of the first banks in the country to secure such status. The bank had already activated Open Finance in a live environment back in December 2025, and this latest development builds directly on that groundwork.
With the update, CBD customers can now view balances held across other banks and move money from those accounts without leaving the CBD app. The bank says further services will roll out later this year, with the goal of turning its app into a single platform for managing finances across multiple institutions.
Dr. Bernd van Linder, CBD's Chief Executive Officer, described the TPP approval as a major milestone in the bank's Open Finance strategy, saying it strengthens how customers manage their financial services while backing the UAE's wider digital transformation goals.
Vladislavs Mironovs, the bank's Chief Digital Officer, said the approval allows CBD to extend its app's reach beyond its own ecosystem, with more cross-bank features planned in the coming months.
CBD's efforts in this space have already drawn international recognition, with the bank picking up two Global Economics Awards for its leadership in advancing Open Finance.
The UAE's Open Finance framework is designed to enable secure, consent-based data sharing among licensed financial institutions, a shift regulators hope will spur greater innovation across the banking sector. CBD says Open Finance remains a core pillar of its digital strategy going forward.
News Source: Ogilvy
