J.P. Morgan plans to expand Abu Dhabi presence, new category one license for payments / corporate banking

J.P. Morgan is planning to expand its United Arab Emirates (UAE) presence by offering deposit taking and payment processing to wholesale banking clients from the Abu Dhabi Global Market (ADGM) for the first time.

The Financial Services Regulatory Authority (FSRA) has granted in-principle approval to J.P. Morgan Middle East Limited in the ADGM to upgrade its licence to category one, allowing the firm to offer a wider breadth of services, covering Payments and Corporate Banking businesses

Declan Hegarty, Senior Executive Officer for Abu Dhabi, J.P. Morgan said, “This is an important step for J.P. Morgan to develop further its longstanding UAE footprint by upgrading the license of our ADGM registered entity to category one. J.P. Morgan continues to invest in its presence in Abu Dhabi and I am delighted we are increasing our capabilities to support clients to drive business growth.”

Sara Castelhano, co-head of EMEA Payments and Commerce Solutions, J.P. Morgan Payments said, “We will bring our cutting-edge payments platforms to ADGM, enabling our clients to build efficient in-house banks and optimise their treasury operations.”

Arvind Ramamurthy, Chief of Market Development at ADGM said: “We are delighted to welcome J.P. Morgan to ADGM. We are confident that ADGM’s dynamic ecosystem and progressive regulations will enable J.P. Morgan’s vision, supporting them in developing their presence across Abu Dhabi and UAE’s vibrant financial landscape. J.P. Morgan’s growing presence across Abu Dhabi reaffirms ADGM’s appeal to leading international financial institutions and its strategic value to global finance. We look forward to witnessing the positive impact of J.P. Morgan on Abu Dhabi’s financial ecosystem and beyond.”

J.P. Morgan provides a range of product offerings to clients in Abu Dhabi, such as Corporate Banking, Securities Services, and Payments including Treasury Services and Trade. The firm established J.P. Morgan Middle East Limited in ADGM in 2021 having been present in the Emirate for over 10 years and servicing clients there for over four decades.

J.P. Morgan Payments brings treasury services and working capital solutions to help clients optimize their liquidity and move funds efficiently around the world. It processes nearly $10 trillion payments daily, operating in over 160 countries and over 120 currencies, and ranks #1 in USD payments volume, globally.