Market Insights

Dubai’s new Click & Travel service is officially live, letting passport officers clear travellers in just 12 to 15 seconds using a handheld device instead of a fixed booth. During its pilot phase, the service processed 31,373 passengers between May and August 2026 before its formal launch on 7 September 2026. For UAE residents and business travellers, it’s a real cut in airport wait times.

Mandatory health insurance is now a legal requirement for private-sector employees across all seven UAE emirates. Employers must provide compliant health insurance coverage to sponsored employees, with visa issuance and renewal directly linked to active insurance status. Failure to maintain coverage can result in fines, visa processing delays, and operational disruption, making health insurance compliance a critical business obligation in 2026.

The UAE Civil Transactions Law has fundamentally reshaped contract law across the UAE mainland. Effective from 1 June 2026, the new legislation introduces mandatory good-faith negotiations, disclosure obligations, revised limitation periods, and expanded court powers. Every business signing contracts, negotiating deals, or managing disputes in the UAE should understand how these changes affect legal risk, compliance, and commercial decision-making.

The UAE Capital Markets Law 2026 marks a major shift in the country’s financial regulatory landscape. With the Securities and Commodities Authority (SCA) replaced by the Capital Market Authority (CMA), founders, investors, and businesses face new rules governing fundraising, private placements, crowdfunding, digital securities, and investor protection. Here’s what the new framework means for capital raising in the UAE.

AFS Pro corporate cards are bringing a new approach to business payments in the UAE, combining corporate credit and prepaid cards with digital spending controls and transaction visibility. Launched by Arab Financial Services and Mastercard, the solution is designed to help businesses manage expenses more efficiently through participating banks and financial institutions, marking another development in the UAE’s rapidly evolving corporate payments landscape.

The UAE’s competition framework now places greater emphasis on proactive compliance across everyday business activities. Companies should carefully assess commercial agreements, pricing strategies, market conduct, and merger transactions to reduce regulatory risk. This guide explains how anti-competitive agreements, abuse of dominant position, merger notification requirements, and exemption rules apply in practice under the UAE’s current competition regime.