In July 2021 the CBUAE issued the Retail Payment Services and Card Schemes Regulation (Circular No. 15/2021 issued by Notice 3603/2021). Under its Article 12, payment service providers must comply with the relevant UAE AML/CFT laws and regulations and address ML/FT risks through appropriate preventive measures to deter abuse of the sector as a conduit for illicit funds, detect ML/FT activities, and report any suspicious transactions to the UAE FIU. Among their detailed regulatory obligations, the licensees must conduct business relationship-specific risk assessments and undertake periodic risk profiling and assessment of retail payment service users based on AML/CFT requirements. In addition, under Article 18.14, card schemes must report transactions to the UAE FIU when there are suspicions, or reasonable grounds to suspect, that the proceeds are related to a crime, or to the attempt or intention to use funds or proceeds for the purpose of committing, concealing or benefitting from a crime.