“Can a Sharia-compliant UAE incumbent become the digital-first Islamic bank by embedding Open Finance and API-driven corporate transaction banking?”
ADIB is a UAE-incorporated Islamic bank operating retail, wholesale and corporate banking. ADIB Direct is its corporate transaction-banking channel (cash, trade, payments, FX). The strategic emphasis under Vision 2035 is digitization — Open Finance via AlTareq, digital onboarding, and an API developer portal for corporate clients.
ADIB Direct discloses Abu Dhabi Islamic Bank PJSC (in-house) as its banking provider, according to the Embedded Finance Index 2026.
ADIB Direct does not disclose a bank charter of its own; its banking services are provided through Abu Dhabi Islamic Bank PJSC (in-house).
ADIB Direct processes payments through ADIB Payment Gateway (self-operated), ADIB Merchant Services / ADIMAC (self-operated), Aani Ecommerce (self-operated), POS Solutions (self-operated) and Mini POS (self-operated).
ADIB Direct's cards are issued through Abu Dhabi Islamic Bank PJSC (in-house).
ADIB Direct's lending and capital products are provided by Abu Dhabi Islamic Bank PJSC (in-house).
ADIB Direct connects to bank accounts through AlTareq (CBUAE Open Finance Platform).
ADIB Direct uses ADIB Treasury (in-house) for FX and cross-border payouts.
ADIB Direct's payroll is powered by ADIB Payroll Services / WPS (in-house).
The Embedded Finance Index 2026 maps 8 layers in ADIB Direct's stack: Payments / PSP (ADIB Payment Gateway (self-operated), ADIB Merchant Services / ADIMAC (self-operated), Aani Ecommerce (self-operated), POS Solutions (self-operated) and 1 other); Banking / BaaS (Abu Dhabi Islamic Bank PJSC (in-house)); Card issuing (Abu Dhabi Islamic Bank PJSC (in-house)); Lending (Abu Dhabi Islamic Bank PJSC (in-house), Small Business Finance (Working Capital, CAPEX up to AED 2M), Relationship Based Finance, Trade Finance and 12 others); Payroll (ADIB Payroll Services / WPS (in-house)); Open banking (AlTareq (CBUAE Open Finance Platform)); FX & payouts (ADIB Treasury (in-house)); Spend / AP (Visa Spend Clarity (VSC) and Visa Commercial Pay (VCP)).
ADIB Direct is founded in 1997 and headquartered in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates.
Get a read on where your own stack stands against ADIB Direct and the rest of its category — what they built versus bought, which providers they use, and where the gaps in your own strategy and competitive set actually are.