United Arab Emirates · Money service business
City Exchange
Legal name in the LEI recordالمدينة للصرافة
City Exchange is an exchange house based in Bur Dubai, United Arab Emirates. The Central Bank of the UAE (CBUAE) licenses it for exchange business under licence 03.01.03.058.1996.02. Its website names Ali Ghafan Mohamed Al Shamsi as a shareholder and board member. It also states that the firm has management support from State Bank of India. It serves individuals and businesses from its branches in the UAE. Its services are remittances, foreign currency exchange, Wages Protection System (WPS) payroll, and collection of VAT, GPSSA pension and credit card payments.
Licences and registrations
Held by المدينة للصرافة (LEI 2549007JTKROHF9RH015). 1 entry on 1 of the 22 tracked registers, retrieved 24 September 2026.
| Register | Licence | Number | Jurisdiction | Status | Registered | Ends | Activities | Register entry |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| CBUAE Register of Licensed Financial Institutions - Exchange BusinessCentral Bank of the UAE (CBUAE)Linked by LEI. Matched by Elucidate to GLEIF on name and country only. | Exchange BusinessMoney Transmitter / RemittanceGLEIF legal name: المدينة للصرافة | 03.01.03.058.1996.02 | United Arab Emirates | Active | — | — |
|
Search the register ↗ |
The register name differs from the legal name in GLEIF. This can follow a rename. Treat the LEI match as indicative.
- Licences belong to the legal entity, not to a BIC.
- Each licence applies in the country of the regulator that granted it.
- Registers are tracked in 37 countries. Licences granted elsewhere are not recorded here.
- The register entries and their trading names were not matched against sanctions lists. The sanctions facts on this page cover the BIC and its LEI only.
Swift network
Swift’s ISO 9362 BIC directory
- BIC
- CEXHAEADXXX head office
- Connection to Swift
- Connected to SwiftThis BIC is registered as a live address on the Swift network. The institution sends and receives Swift messages under CEXHAEAD directly.
- Swift GPI
- Not on the member list
- Payment schemes and systems
- No entry in the EPC registers, the ECB T2 and TIPS lists or the SIX Bank Master cites this BIC
- Branch codes
- None: head-office BIC only
- BIC first registered
- 2025-12-13
- Last updated
- 2026-01-24
Overview
Researched 29 Sep 2026 · Sources
Customers
Not published
Employees
Not published
Ownership
Privately held
Firm type
Money remittance
Trades as City Exchange
- Standing
- The firm announced that its Sharjah Rolla and Sharjah Al Nahda branches would close permanently at the end of business on 9 September 2026. Its CBUAE exchange-business licence is shown as active on the August 2026 register.
- Ownership
- The firm's website describes Ali Ghafan Mohamed Al Shamsi as a shareholder and board member of the firm. It does not publish shareholdings.
- Head office
- Shop 01, building of Maha Ahmed Abdullah Al Moosa, 312-24 Street, Al Souq Al Kabeer, Bur Dubai, Dubai, United Arab Emirates
Online
- Websites & references
- cityexchangeuae.com ↗
- Official social accounts
- None found
Authorisation
Researched 29 Sep 2026 · Sources
- Operates under
- Its own licences
The Central Bank of the UAE licenses the firm for exchange business, listed as a money transmitter and remittance licence. According to its terms, this covers currency dealing, remittances, WPS wage payments and collection of VAT, pension, credit card and Air Arabia payments.
| Authority | Licence or registration | Number | Held | Status | Source |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Central Bank of the UAE (CBUAE) United Arab Emirates | Exchange Business (Money Transmitter / Remittance) | 03.01.03.058.1996.02 | In its own name | Active | — |
Licences and registrations the research found, at home and abroad, as the firm and its regulators publish them. The Licences and registrations card shows the entries on the registers the directory tracks.
Partners and safeguarding
Researched 29 Sep 2026 · Sources
- Safeguarding
- Not disclosedThe firm states that it is licensed and regulated by the CBUAE and holds enough capital to protect its business and its customers' interests. It does not describe how customers' funds are held.
- Payment schemes and card networks
- UAE Funds Transfer System (UAEFTS) Access not stated cityexchangeuae.com ↗
UAE Wages Protection System (WPS) Access not stated cityexchangeuae.com ↗
Banks and regulated firms the firm says hold its customers’ money, issue its cards, sponsor its accounts or settle its payments, as it discloses them in its terms and notices.
Products and markets
Researched 29 Sep 2026 · Sources
It sends money from its UAE branches through arrangements with banks in India, Pakistan, Bangladesh, Nepal and Sri Lanka and through money transfer organisations such as Ria. It also offers WPS payroll and collects VAT, GPSSA, credit card and Air Arabia payments.
The firm serves customers in person at branches in several emirates of the UAE and sends remittances abroad, mainly to South Asia.
- Sells to
- Consumers · Small businesses · Enterprises
- Serves customers in
- United Arab Emirates
Leadership
Researched 29 Sep 2026 · Sources
- Executive
- Abdulla Jauan Salem Ali Al Dhaheri Leadership team (Chairman and CEO of AJS Investments LLC)
- Executive
- Ali Ghafan Mohamed Al Shamsi Shareholder and board member
Recent events
Researched 29 Sep 2026 · Sources
-
Other
The firm permanently closed its Sharjah Rolla and Sharjah Al Nahda branches at the end of business on 9 September 2026.
cityexchangeuae.com ↗
Compliance-relevant events of the last three years, newest first: fines and enforcement, investigations, security incidents, licence changes, funding rounds, acquisitions and leadership changes. Each links to its source.
Identifiers
Head-office record
- BIC
- CEXHAEADXXX
- How the BIC breaks down
- CEXHBank
- AECountry · United Arab Emirates
- ADLocation
- XXXBranch · head office
- Branch description
- Not recorded in the directory
- LEI
- 2549007JTKROHF9RH015
- LEI record
- View on GLEIF ↗
- Licence no. · CBUAE-EB
- 03.01.03.058.1996.02
- How the LEI was matched
- BIC: Mapped to this BIC in the Swift and GLEIF BIC-to-LEI relationship file.Register entry: Matched by Elucidate to GLEIF on name and country only.
- Register-entry ID
- 502408b21a70
Profile
- Type
- Money service businessRemittance, currency exchange, cheque cashing and money orders. Usually registered with an anti-money-laundering supervisor rather than licensed prudentially. Taken from the licences on the tracked registers.
- Regulation
- Prudential licenceAuthorised with capital, safeguarding and conduct requirements, e.g. an authorised payment or e-money institution in the EU or UK, a major payment institution in Singapore, or a MiCA crypto-asset service provider.
- Register licences
- 1 entry on 1 register
- Activities
- Currency exchange
- Licensed in
- United Arab Emirates
- Country · region
- United Arab Emirates · Middle East & North Africa
- Trading venues (MIC)
- No MIC registered under this LEI list of 2026-09-17
- OFAC sanctions
- No listing cites this BIC
- EU sanctions
- No listing matched this BIC or its LEI
- Country sanctions
- No country programme
Types come from Swift’s BIC classification, the licences on the 22 tracked registers, and the ECB and FSB bank lists. Most banks outside the euro area appear as financial institutions, because their supervisors’ registers are not tracked yet.
Ownership and group
GLEIF relationship records
GLEIF’s relationship records name no parent for this LEI, and no group page is published for it.
Addresses
- Registered address
- MAHA AHMED ABDULLAH AL MOOSA SHOP-01 312-24 ST. AL SOUQ AL KABEER DM.23 DUBAI 29395 UNITED ARAB EMIRATES
- Operational address
- MAHA AHMED ABDULLAH AL MOOSA SHOP-01 312-24 ST. AL SOUQ AL KABEER - DM.23 DUBAI 29395 DUBAI UNITED ARAB EMIRATES
ISO 20022 identification
As an agent in a Swift cross-border payment message (CBPR+)
A CBPR+ message identifies this institution by its BIC, and may add its LEI or a clearing code. CBPR+ does not allow a name and postal address next to a BIC.
- Identified by
- BIC, with its LEI
- Roles in CBPR+
- Any agent, including the instructing and instructed agents
CBPR+
For cross-border payments on Swift: the BIC, with the LEI and clearing code where known
<FinInstnId>
<BICFI>CEXHAEADXXX</BICFI>
<LEI>2549007JTKROHF9RH015</LEI>
</FinInstnId>Full record
Every ISO 20022 element the directory holds. Base ISO 20022 allows them together. CBPR+ does not allow a name and address next to a BIC
<FinInstnId>
<BICFI>CEXHAEADXXX</BICFI>
<LEI>2549007JTKROHF9RH015</LEI>
<Nm>CITY EXCHANGE</Nm>
<PstlAdr>
<TwnNm>DUBAI</TwnNm>
<Ctry>AE</Ctry>
<AdrLine>MAHA AHMED ABDULLAH AL MOOSA SHOP-01 312-24 ST. AL SOUQ AL KABEER</AdrLine>
<AdrLine>DM.23 DUBAI 29395</AdrLine>
</PstlAdr>
</FinInstnId>The BIC, name and address are as published in Swift’s BIC directory. The LEI comes from the Swift and GLEIF BIC-to-LEI file. Check them against your own records before use.
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Sources & method
Every value comes from a public source, such as Swift’s ISO 9362 BIC directory, GLEIF or the OFAC and EU sanctions lists. Most sources are matched on a BIC or an LEI, not on a name.
Swift GPI membership is matched on names and is indicative. A missing sanctions match does not mean that no listing applies. Always screen against the official lists.
Register entries are not screened against sanctions lists. The sanctions facts on this page cover the BIC and its LEI only.
An institution is one entry in the directory: a BIC8 in Swift’s directory, or a firm on a tracked register that holds no BIC. Licences held by an institution with a BIC are shown on its page.
Read the methodology →Credits for this page
- CBUAE Register of Licensed Financial Institutions - Exchange Business—Central Bank of the UAE (CBUAE) · register ↗ as at 24 September 2026
- Overview, authorisation, partners, products, leadership and events—researched per institution by an AI model with web search, from the firm's own website, terms and filings, regulators' registers and notices, company registers and news. Licences, partners, figures, people and events link to their source, and each card shows the research date. AI research can be wrong or out of date, so check key facts at the source.
- Images—logos and photos from Wikimedia Commons (credited with their author and licence) or from the institution's own website, where Wikimedia has none. Elucidate keeps a copy of each; the links lead to the source and the original image. Logo: cityexchangeuae.com (official website) · original.
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