DUBAI: Dubai Business Registration and Licensing Corporation (DBLC), part of the Dubai Department of Economy and Tourism (DET), has highlighted the transformative impact of its strategic alliance with Emirates NBD through integration with the Dubai Unified Licence (DUL) initiative.

As one of the first banks officially onboarded to the DUL, Emirates NBD has pioneered a seamless, government-verified approach to SME and Business Banking (BuB) onboarding. By leveraging direct access to DET’s trade licence and investor data, the bank has cut onboarding times by 35% and automated the updating of more than 4,000 business customer records over the course of only two months, eliminating the need for manual intervention by customers or staff. Since working within the DUL framework, the bank has also supported SMEs and investors by enabling faster account openings, simpler regulatory compliance, and smoother access to banking services.

The DUL platform, launched in 2023 to further improve the ease of doing business in Dubai, provides a centralised digital identity for businesses across Dubai’s mainland and free zones. By consolidating accurate, real-time licensing data, it reduces duplication, accelerates service delivery, and strengthens compliance processes for both government and private sector stakeholders. Through this unified platform, businesses can access their verified data instantly and securely, streamlining interactions with regulators, financial institutions, and service providers.

Enhancing data integration between DBLC and Emirates NBD, while accelerating setup for small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) and the bank’s Business Banking customers (BuB), the collaboration aligns with the ambitious goals of the Dubai Economic Agenda, D33, to double the size of Dubai’s economy by 2033 and to further consolidate its position as a leading global destination for business and leisure.

Since its initial integration, Emirates NBD has also established connectivity with all Dubai-based licensing authorities on the DUL platform, including DMCC, Meydan, and DAFZA. In March 2025, Emirates Islamic, part of Emirates NBD Group, was successfully onboarded, further expanding integration across the banking ecosystem. The bank is now progressing with an enhanced rollout using DBLC’s newly extended dataset that incorporates an additional 275 data fields, improving accuracy and consistency across its systems.

Ahmad Khalifa AlQaizi AlFalasi, CEO of Dubai Business Registration and Licensing Corporation (DBLC), said: “Our partnership with Emirates NBD reflects the strength of the Dubai Unified License as a catalyst for business efficiency and for Dubai’s broader aspiration of creating an even stronger investor-friendly environment. By enabling faster onboarding, real-time licence remediation, and seamless integration with financial services, the DUL is delivering on the priorities set out in the D33 Agenda to build a truly digital-first, globally competitive economy. Under Dubai’s visionary leadership, we are committed to forming more such collaborations that will attract investment, foster innovation and secure our city’s position as a world-leading hub for trade and enterprise.”

Marwan Hadi, Group Head of Retail Banking & Wealth Management at Emirates NBD, said: “Dubai continues to draw global businesses and investors, driven by its resilient economy and ongoing efforts to advance strategic economic initiatives that shape a distinctive business landscape; in a further testament to this progress, the city recorded a GDP of AED119.7 billion in the first quarter of 2025, marking a 4% increase compared to the same period in 2024.”