The Central Bank gives banks and insurance companies 90 days to comply with the “telemarketing” system.

Yesterday, the Central Bank sent a circular to licensed financial institutions in the country, including banks, insurance companies, reinsurance companies and other financial institutions, attaching to it the telephone marketing system issued by the Central Bank, which will enter into force immediately after its publication in the Official Gazette, with a period of 90 days to ensure compliance with the system from the date of its entry into force.

On October 28, 2025, Emirates Today published the Central Bank’s intention to issue a comprehensive, detailed system for marketing telephone banking products and services.

Circular No. 2032/2026 sent by the Central Bank, and Emirates Today obtained a copy of it, stated: “The Central Bank hereby issues a marketing system via telephone calls,” attaching a copy of the system.

The Central Bank said: “The system aims to establish a supervisory framework that specifies the minimum standards that licensed financial institutions must adhere to when practicing marketing activity via telephone calls in accordance with applicable laws and regulations, protecting customers, enhancing their confidence, and preventing marketing communications via unwanted telephone calls, to ensure that customers are not disturbed and avoid violating their privacy.”

The Central Bank added: “The system shall be published in the Official Gazette and shall enter into force immediately after its publication. To ensure compliance with the system, licensed financial institutions must take all necessary measures and arrangements to fully comply with the provisions of the system within 90 days from the date of its entry into force.” It also requested that the financial institution’s Board of Directors be informed of the content of the system at the next meeting of the Board.

According to the most prominent provisions of the system, “The financial institution must obtain prior written approval from its board of directors or in certain cases from the Central Bank before conducting marketing via telephone calls, and that marketers must be trained and ensure that they complete at least 15 hours of training, and ensure that they are sufficiently familiar with all the products and services offered.”

According to the system: “The financial institution must provide marketers with channels through authorized telephone calls, including landline and mobile phone numbers, official email addresses, and bank accounts. The licensed financial institution must also use the registered and full trade name in telemarketing, and the information identifying the caller must be clear and not hidden.”

The system also states that “a licensed financial institution must obtain prior explicit approval from the customer, and apply strict age verification processes when obtaining approval, to ensure that individuals who have reached the legal age are targeted in accordance with applicable laws.”

The Central Bank stressed in its system that the licensed financial institution must at all times ensure that marketers have access to the do-not-call register, to avoid contacting the dealers included in the list, and not to contact a dealer who has chosen to withdraw, or has refused in any way to receive calls by phone. Marketing communications must also be terminated immediately and stopped based on the customer’s request.

The system included provisions on the timing and frequency of marketing via phone calls, such that it should only be between nine in the morning and six in the evening, state time, in addition to organizing automated communication systems or artificial intelligence to conduct marketing via phone calls, in addition to applying strict security measures, procedures, policies, systems and controls for information technology security to protect the customer’s personal data.

. The system requires training marketers, ensuring that they complete at least 15 hours of training, and ensuring that they have sufficient knowledge of all products and services.