Revolut strengthens UAE push with Sameer Al Ansari as Non-Executive Chairman
Revolut has appointed Dr. Sameer Al Ansari as Non-Executive Chairman of Revolut UAE, formally known as Revolut Stored Value Services LLC, as the global fintech deepens its presence in the UAE ahead of a full-scale local launch.
The appointment comes shortly after Revolut received its Stored Value Facilities license and Retail Payment Services Category II license from the Central Bank of the UAE, completing the company’s regulatory licensing process after securing in-principal approval in September 2025. The approvals allow Revolut to prepare a local offering that is expected to include multi-currency accounts, physical and virtual cards, and local and international payments through one app.
In a further sign of its regional ambitions, Revolut has also applied for and received in-principle approval from Dubai’s Virtual Assets Regulatory Authority for a crypto broker-dealer license, a crypto exchange license, and a crypto management and investment license. The milestone came weeks after the fintech secured its Stored Value Facilities and Retail Payment Services Category II licenses from the Central Bank of the United Arab Emirates, reinforcing Revolut’s expansion strategy in the Middle East and its intent to build a regulated, end-to-end financial ecosystem in the country.
Dr. Al Ansari brings more than 40 years of senior corporate, operational, private equity, investment, board and strategic advisory experience, with a track record spanning sovereign wealth funds, investment banking, real estate, healthcare, digital assets and private equity. He previously founded Dubai International Capital, where he served as Executive Chairman and CEO, and also led SHUAA Capital as CEO during its post-financial-crisis recovery.
He was most recently CEO of RAK Digital Assets Oasis and currently holds several board positions, including with Al Ramz Corporation, TVM Healthcare Partners and Marjan, the Ras Al Khaimah developer. His former board roles include the Dubai International Financial Centre, Dubai Holding and the Hawkamah Institute of Corporate Governance.
His appointment adds governance depth to Revolut’s UAE buildout at a time when the fintech is moving from regulatory approval into execution. Since receiving its in-principle approval, Revolut has expanded its local team and invested in the infrastructure and compliance frameworks required to support regulated financial services in the country.
Dr. Ansari noted on LinkedIn “I am very excited to announce my appointment as the Non-Executive Chairman of Revolut UAE (Revolut Stored Value Services LLC). To be a part of this incredible success story is an absolute honor. I can’t wait to put my 40 years of experience to good use working with the hugely talented team in the UAE and beyond.”
Ambareen Musa, Revolut’s GCC CEO and the founder of Souqalmal.com, has been leading the company’s Gulf expansion, with a strategy focused on consumer empowerment, financial flexibility and localized digital finance tools. Her appointment, announced as Revolut was building its UAE presence, marked one of the company’s key regional leadership moves before its licensing milestone.
The UAE has become a natural target for fintech expansion, given its internationally connected population, high digital adoption and regulatory focus on financial innovation. Revolut’s entry will place it in a competitive market that already includes digital banks, traditional banks and payment players offering app-based services, cards, wallets and cross-border transfers.
The combination of licensing progress and senior appointments signals that Revolut is moving carefully but steadily in the UAE, choosing regulatory readiness, local leadership and board-level experience as the foundations for its launch. For a company known globally for payments, currency exchange, cards and increasingly broader financial services, the UAE could become one of its most important Middle East markets.
Once operational, Revolut is expected to offer UAE customers access to its global financial platform, enabling users to hold and manage multiple currencies, make payments with cards, and send money locally and internationally through a single application.
For Revolut, the message is clear: after years of international growth, the UAE is no longer just a future market. With Central Bank licenses secured, Ambareen Musa leading the GCC strategy, and Dr. Sameer Al Ansari chairing the UAE entity, the global fintech is putting its regional structure in place.
