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In 2025, AI is playing a growing role in how UAE lenders manage the credit lifecycle.
Many institutions now use AI in at least one part of their lending operations, whether it’s screening documents, scoring credit, or flagging fraud risks.
This is no longer limited to pilot programs or internal testing. AI is being applied to real workflows, especially in cases where traditional credit data is thin or inconsistent, such as expat lending, asset-light SMEs, and first-time borrowers.
This article breaks down how financial institutions in the Gulf are applying AI at each stage of the lending process, and what it takes to deploy these systems effectively.
Manual loan onboarding has always been a bottleneck, mainly for SME and expat borrowers who may lack standard documentation. AI is helping lenders in the UAE streamline this early stage by automating document handling, ID verification, and initial eligibility checks.
Instead of relying on staff to collect and cross-check data, AI systems can:
During Dubai AI Week, Huspy launched an AI-powered mortgage chatbot via WhatsApp that screens applicants in real time. It recommends eligible offers and guides users through document submission, helping lenders move faster without compromising documentation quality.
As AI takes over the front end of the process, its next role is in assessing the borrower’s creditworthiness, especially when traditional scoring falls short.
Many credit decisions in the UAE now rely on more than just traditional scores. For SMEs and first-time borrowers with short financial histories, AI allows lenders to assess creditworthiness using broader, real-time data.
Machine learning models can process:
Beehive, a peer-to-peer lending platform in Dubai, uses AI to combine conventional credit checks with alternative data sources. This helps expand access while keeping risk exposure within acceptable thresholds.
At the decision stage, AI models can:
NymCard, a digital banking platform active across the UAE and MENA, has embedded AI into its credit workflows to accelerate approvals and reduce exposure to poor-quality loans. Rather than replacing credit officers, AI helps standardize and support the decision-making process.
But a credit decision is only as good as the data it’s based on and AI also plays a role in tracking how that risk evolves over time.
Approving a loan is only part of the equation. Managing that credit exposure over time is where many lenders face operational risk. AI gives institutions the ability to update borrower assessments in real time and detect early signs of distress or fraud without waiting for a missed payment or quarterly review.
Lenders are using AI to:
In the UAE, Biz2Credit’s partnership with Magnati enables lenders to monitor SME transactions continuously and adjust credit terms dynamically. The initiative is expected to support over $1 billion in SME lending by mid-2026 without increasing underwriting risk.
Fraud detection also benefits from automation. AI tools compare applicant data across databases, flag inconsistencies in documents, and detect duplicate or suspicious behavior. These checks are becoming essential as more lenders scale into high-volume, digital-first segments.
As systems become more automated, meeting regulatory obligations while expanding reach also becomes a major challenge.
In the UAE’s lending environment, meeting regulatory standards is just as important as scale or speed.
Lenders must comply with strict KYC, AML, and data protection rules while also expanding access to borrower groups that have historically been underserved.
AI systems are now used to:
Etihad Credit Insurance (ECI) uses AI to assess over 400 million global buyer records, improving underwriting accuracy while ensuring compliance for UAE-based exporters.
At the same time, AI supports inclusion. Expats and asset-light SMEs often excluded by traditional models can now be evaluated based on business activity and transaction data. Magnati’s program with Biz2Credit, for example, underwrites loans using live cash flow metrics rather than legacy credit files.
By combining credit decisioning, fraud detection, and regulatory compliance into a unified system, lenders can scale operations while maintaining discipline and control.
In the UAE, AI now handles everything from verifying documents to tracking credit risk in real time.
Institutions like Nymcard, Magnati, and Huspy have already embedded Ai in their credit decisions: using it to qualify borrowers, assess risk, and track borrower risk with live financial data.
At Ripae, we work with institutions that are ready to treat AI as part of their operations. We help design and scale lending systems that meet real business and compliance demands.
If you're ready to build an AI credit system that actually scales, let’s talk.
