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The Ras Al Khaimah Economic Zone and Rakbank have partnered to enable corporate account openings in 60 minutes for businesses licensed through the free zone according to a joint statement distributed by the Emirates News Agency. This service integrates RAKEZ company data directly with Rakbank’s digital systems reducing the traditional multi-day approval process to under an hour for eligible applicants. The initiative forms part of ongoing efforts to position Ras Al Khaimah as a competitive hub for entrepreneurs from across South Asia and Europe.
RAKEZ recorded 19,000 new company registrations in 2025 representing a 44 percent increase from the previous year according to figures released by the economic zone itself. Service-related licences accounted for 40 percent of those new entities followed by commercial trading at 33 percent and e-commerce at 17 percent. India supplied 33 percent of the new investors with Pakistan and the United Kingdom contributing 8 percent and 7 percent respectively while the total active business community surpassed 50,000 by August 2026.
A Ken Research evaluation placed the UAE digital SME banking platforms market at 425 million U.S. dollars in 2025 with projections for expansion at an 18 percent compound annual growth rate through the early 2030s driven by demand for rapid digital onboarding. Rakbank has expanded its SME-focused digital offerings since launching fully paperless account processes in 2022 according to the bank’s public updates. The new RAKEZ collaboration extends that capability by linking free zone licensing to instant banking activation.
Vishal Shah managing director and head of business banking at Rakbank noted in the statement that the partnership delivers immediate value to entrepreneurs by removing administrative barriers that have historically slowed business launches in the UAE. The service targets both new registrations and existing RAKEZ clients seeking additional banking relationships with pre-verified documentation flowing directly between the two entities. Rakbank separately committed approximately 2 billion dirhams in additional credit facilities to SME customers during 2026 according to its own disclosures.
Ramy Jallad group CEO of RAKEZ highlighted how the one-hour account opening aligns with the zone’s broader digital transformation initiatives that have supported sustained investor inflows over recent years. The economic zone continues to attract high-value investments in sectors ranging from IT services and project management consultancy to marketing and online trading according to its annual performance data. Such partnerships form part of a wider UAE strategy to elevate the digital economy’s contribution to national GDP.
The Central Bank of the UAE has supported similar innovations across the banking sector with digital transaction volumes rising steadily among SMEs in recent assessments by the regulator. Rakbank disbursed more than 4.9 billion dirhams in new business finance during 2025 focusing on working capital trade facilities and unsecured lending for qualifying companies. This latest service with RAKEZ is expected to further accelerate account acquisition for the thousands of businesses that join the free zone each quarter.
