Circle has secured a Financial Services Permission (FSP) license from the Financial Services Regulatory Authority (FSRA) of ADGM to operate as a Money Services Provider in the International Financial Centre (IFC) of Abu Dhabi.

The company has also appointed Dr Saeeda Jaffar as Managing Director for Circle Middle East & Africa (MEA).

Dr Jaffar joins from Visa, where she was Senior Vice President and Group Country Manager for the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC).

In her new role, she will oversee Circle’s regional strategy, develop partnerships with financial institutions and enterprises, and support the adoption of digital dollars and onchain payment solutions across the UAE and wider MEA region.

“We are honoured to work with the FSRA in ADGM. Their framework sets a high bar for transparency, risk management, and consumer protection, standards that enable trusted stablecoins to power real-world payments and finance at internet scale. I’m also delighted to welcome Dr Saeeda Jaffar to Circle. Her deep regional expertise, strategic vision and reputation for building high-performing partnerships will be invaluable as we expand our presence in the UAE and MEA,”

said Jeremy Allaire, Co-Founder, Chairman and CEO of Circle.

With the FSP license, Circle can expand regulated payment and settlement services for businesses, developers, and financial institutions in the UAE.

The announcement follows the recognition of USDC and EURC as the first stablecoins under the Dubai Financial Services Authority’s crypto token regime.

Featured image credit: Edited by Fintech News Middle East, based on image by Christoph Schulz via Unsplash