VA Lending & Borrowing License
License for providing virtual asset lending facilities, peer-to-peer platforms, and secured lending against VA collateral.
VARA Regulations 2023, VA Lending and Borrowing Services Rulebook
Capital Required
AED 500,000 or 25% of annual overheads plus 1.2x monthly expenses
Timeline
7-10 months
Fees
AED 100,000 application + AED 200,000 annual supervision
Regulatory Body
Virtual Assets Regulatory Authority (VARA)
Legislative Framework
Dubai Law No. 4 of 2022, Virtual Assets and Related Activities Regulations 2023, VARA Rulebooks (13 total: 5 Compulsory, 8 Activity-Specific)
Last updated: August 2025
Key Requirements
Base capital of AED 500,000 or 25% of fixed annual expenses (whichever is higher) plus monthly operational expenses
Comprehensive credit risk management with loan origination policies, underwriting standards, and provisioning
Collateral management system for secured lending with weekly VA collateral revaluation per VARA standards
Loan loss reserve policy with provisions determined through stress testing and portfolio analysis
Chief Risk Officer and Chief Compliance Officer with lending risk management and regulatory experience
Professional indemnity and cyber liability insurance of minimum AED 1,000,000 for lending operations
Clear borrower and lender agreements with loan terms, collateral requirements, and liquidation procedures
Audit trail systems recording all lending transactions, collateral movements, and default events
Application Process
Submit VA Lending & Borrowing license application with detailed lending business model and loan products
Provide organizational structure with management CVs for Chief Risk Officer and Chief Compliance Officer
Include compliance manual with credit underwriting standards, collateral policies, and default procedures
Submit detailed credit risk management framework including provisioning methodologies and stress scenarios
Provide insurance certificates and capital adequacy verification from independent auditors
VARA review including assessment of risk management maturity and compliance framework adequacy
Expected Total Timeline
7-10 months
Ongoing Obligations
After obtaining your VA Lending & Borrowing License, these are the continuing compliance requirements you must maintain.
Quarterly credit quality reports including loan portfolio composition, default rates, and loss provisioning
Monthly collateral valuations and rebalancing reports with weekly collateral adequacy ratio monitoring
Quarterly capital adequacy certifications and annual independent audits of financial statements and reserves
Semi-annual stress testing of loan portfolio with analysis of scenarios and remediation plans to VARA
Annual fit-and-proper assessments for Chief Risk Officer and Chief Compliance Officer with updates
Quarterly reporting of material defaults, collateral liquidations, and customer disputes with root cause analysis
Cost Summary
Capital Requirement
AED 500,000 or 25% of annual overheads plus 1.2x monthly expenses
Application & Licensing Fees
AED 100,000 application + AED 200,000 annual supervision
Jurisdiction Setup Cost
$50,000-$100,000
Annual: $40,000-$120,000
Other UAE / Dubai Licenses
Explore other license types available in UAE / Dubai.
VA Exchange License
VA Broker-Dealer License
VA Custody License
VA Management & Investment License
VA Advisory License
VA Issuance License
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