Blueberry Becomes Early Entrant Under UAE's New CMA Licensing Regime

Australian brokerage firm Blueberry Markets has secured a Category 5 license in the United Arab Emirates, making it one of the first international brokers authorised directly by the new Capital Market Authority.

The license appeared on the CMA’s public register this week and allows Blueberry to legally promote and market its brand within the UAE. The firm has also appointed Gescard Abi El Hessen, who previously held senior roles at Pepperstone and IC Markets, as its local Category Head.

The Category 5 Route: Marketing Rail, not Local Custody

Category 5 is not a brokerage licence in the traditional sense. It doesn’t let a firm hold client funds or execute trades locally, but allows introducing UAE-based professional and institutional clients to a regulated entity abroad. In Blueberry’s case, its ASIC-regulated Australian firm or its VFSC-registered offshore unit.

That distinction has made Category 5 the standard entry point for global brokers targeting the Middle East’s high-net-worth client base. Blueberry now sits alongside XM, XS.com, Eightcap and STARTRADER, all of which secured similar approvals in 2025 and 2026.

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Blueberry’s approval is one of the first granted under the new regime. The CMA took over all rights and obligations from the Securities and Commodities Authority (SCA) on January 1, 2026, following federal decrees issued in late 2025.

The handover has come with a noticeably tighter enforcement stance. In 2025, the regulator fined a licensed firm AED 5 million (roughly $1.36 million) over anti-money-laundering violations and deceptive practices.

It has also stepped up investor warnings, including a recent alert against the unauthorised entity Golden Brokers Limited.

What it Means for Brokers

Blueberry’s entry confirms the UAE remains the main battleground for regional expansion, but the terms of entry are getting stricter.

Recent approvals also show that firms increasingly appoint locally based executives with regulatory experience to lead their UAE operations. Blueberry followed the same pattern by hiring former Pepperstone and IC Markets executive Gescard Abi El Hessen as its Category Head

There’s also a ceiling question. Most firms are settling for the marketing-only Category 5 route, but XTB has already started upgrading to Category 1, which allows full local brokerage with custody. If that model proves more attractive to clients, the marketing-passport approach could face pressure sooner than firms expect.

For now, timing matters most. Firms that held SCA licenses before 2026 have until January 1, 2027 to complete their transition to the CMA framework.

Blueberry, applying directly to the new regulator, illustrates how new applicants are entering the CMA framework without relying on transitional arrangements.