UAE compliance guide
Transaction monitoring in the UAE
What transaction monitoring means for UAE regulated firms, what it looks for, how alerts are reviewed and how it connects to suspicious transaction reporting.
Short answer
Transaction monitoring is the ongoing review of customer transactions to detect activity that does not fit the customer's known profile or that may indicate money laundering, terrorist financing or sanctions evasion. In the UAE, regulated firms must monitor relationships on an ongoing basis and report suspicious activity to the UAE FIU through goAML.
Last reviewed by the ITSEC compliance team. General information, not legal advice.
What does transaction monitoring look for?
Unusual amounts, velocity or frequency, transfers to or from high-risk jurisdictions, structuring below thresholds, and activity inconsistent with the customer's stated purpose.
For virtual assets, it also covers wallet exposure to illicit sources, often called KYT (know your transaction).
What happens when an alert fires?
An analyst reviews the alert, gathers context, records a rationale and either closes it or escalates it. Escalated cases may lead to a suspicious transaction report.
Rules or machine learning?
Most firms start with transparent, versioned rules they can explain to a regulator, then add scoring models where they can evidence how decisions are made.
Frequently asked questions
- Is transaction monitoring mandatory in the UAE?
- Ongoing monitoring of business relationships is part of the UAE AML/CFT framework for financial institutions, VASPs and DNFBPs. Confirm the detail in your regulator's rulebook.
- What is the difference between KYT and transaction monitoring?
- KYT is transaction monitoring applied to virtual asset transfers, including blockchain wallet risk.
Official sources
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