Glossary of UAE banking and digital asset terms
This glossary of UAE banking and digital asset terms defines the words Zand Bank uses in corporate banking, escrow, digital asset custody and stablecoins, from virtual IBAN and authority matrix to hardware security module, payment token and qualified investor. Each entry gives a one-sentence definition, a short explanation and a link to the page where the term matters.
29 terms in five groups. Last reviewed . Definitions are general information, not investment, legal or tax advice.
Corporate banking terms
Words a finance team meets when it opens a company account, sets up its users and sends payments.
Authority matrix
An authority matrix is the set of rules that says which users of a company may enter, check, authorise and release a transaction.
On Zand Digital Corporate Banking the matrix sets the rules for six user types: Viewer, Inputter, Checker, Authoriser, Releaser and Administrator. Transfer requests then follow the workflow it defines.
Demand deposit account
A demand deposit account is a bank account from which the holder can withdraw or pay out money at any time without notice.
It is the everyday operating account of a company, used for receipts and payments. Zand Bank lists Demand Deposit Accounts in its Transaction Banking service, with payments in 15 currencies.
IBAN
An IBAN (International Bank Account Number) is a standard account identifier that names the country, the bank and the account in one string.
Each IBAN begins with a two-letter country code and two check digits, so a sending bank can validate it before a payment leaves. A company quotes its IBAN to receive transfers.
Used on: corporate account opening guide
Maker-checker
Maker-checker is a control in which one person enters a transaction and a different person approves it before it is processed.
It is also called the four-eyes principle. A Zand Bank corporate account that is not a sole proprietorship needs at least two users to open: a Maker or Inputter and an Authoriser.
Used on: Zand Bank frequently asked questions
Standard Settlement Instructions (SSI)
Standard Settlement Instructions are the fixed account details a bank publishes so that counterparties know where to send payments in each currency.
They normally list the correspondent bank, its SWIFT/BIC code and the account per currency. Zand Bank publishes its SSI as a PDF document; the values are not repeated on this page.
Term deposit
A term deposit is money placed with a bank for a fixed period, called the tenor, in return for an agreed rate.
Zand Bank corporate clients can place term deposits in AED, USD and EUR for tenors of up to 1 year, with partial or full withdrawal through the Deposits menu. Rates are not published.
Transaction banking
Transaction banking is the part of a bank that handles a company's day-to-day money movement: accounts, payments, collections and liquidity.
At Zand Bank the Transaction Banking service covers Demand Deposit Accounts, Virtual Integrated Accounts, payments in 15 currencies, a multi-rail API and escrow services.
Virtual IBAN and Virtual Integrated Account
A virtual IBAN is an IBAN that routes incoming payments to a master account while identifying a single payer, client or purpose.
It simplifies reconciliation, because each receipt arrives already labelled. Zand Bank offers Virtual Integrated Accounts (VIAs) within Transaction Banking and lists Virtual IBANs among its APIs, next to payments, reconciliation and reporting.
Escrow terms
Words used when a neutral party holds money until the conditions of a deal are met.
Escrow account
An escrow account is an account in which a neutral third party holds money until the conditions agreed by the parties are met.
The funds are then released to the seller or returned to the buyer, as the escrow agreement states. Companies use escrow in acquisitions, commercial contracts and property sales in Dubai and the wider UAE.
Used on: escrow services for companies
Escrow agent
An escrow agent is the neutral party, often a bank, that holds the money and releases it only as the escrow agreement instructs.
Zand Bank acts as escrow agent for mergers and acquisitions and for commercial contracts under its Commercial Escrow Services. Enquiries go to [email protected].
Used on: commercial escrow as a banking service. To discuss a mandate, ask a question
Off-plan real estate escrow
Off-plan real estate escrow is an account that holds buyers' payments for a property sold before completion, apart from the developer's own funds.
In Dubai, Law No. (8) of 2007 applies to developers who sell units off-plan and makes them request an escrow account (Articles 3 and 6). Zand Bank offers Real Estate Escrow Services for off-plan transactions.
Digital asset custody terms
Words used when an institution places digital assets with a custodian. Virtual assets can lose their value: read the risk disclosure for digital asset services.
Digital asset custody
Digital asset custody is the safekeeping of the private keys that control a client's digital assets, by a custodian acting on the client's instructions.
It is also called crypto custody. Zand Bank provides it under VARA licence no. VL/2024/12/001, which permits service to Institutional Investors and Qualified Investors only.
Used on: institutional digital asset custody
Cold storage and hot wallet
Cold storage keeps private keys offline, while a hot wallet keeps them connected to a network so that transfers can be signed quickly.
Cold storage trades speed for protection against online attack; a hot wallet does the opposite. In Zand Bank's custody service, Zand Vault is the cold storage and Zand Wallet is the hot wallet.
Used on: Zand Vault and Zand Wallet
Hardware security module (HSM)
A hardware security module is a tamper-resistant device that generates and stores cryptographic keys and signs with them without exposing the keys.
Zand Bank states that private keys in its custody service are protected in onshore UAE HSMs, and its custody page describes the modules as FIPS 140-3 compliant.
Used on: how keys are held in HSMs
Multi-signature
Multi-signature is a wallet set-up in which a transaction is valid only when a set number of separate keys have signed it.
A two-of-three wallet, for example, needs any two of its three keys, so no single key holder can move assets alone. Zand Bank lists multi-signature among its custody security features.
Used on: signing controls for custody
Threshold Signature Scheme (TSS)
A Threshold Signature Scheme splits one signing key into shares, so that a set number of parties jointly produce a single signature.
The full key is never assembled in one place, and the blockchain sees an ordinary signature. Zand Bank names TSS, with multi-signature, among the security features of its custody service.
Used on: key management at Zand Bank
Segregation and bankruptcy remoteness
Segregation means client assets are held apart from the custodian's own; bankruptcy remoteness means they stay outside the custodian's estate if it fails.
Zand Bank says each user's assets are segregated into dedicated wallets, and bases bankruptcy remoteness on UAE federal law, VARA's Custody Services Rulebook and its Custody Service Terms and Conditions.
Used on: how custody assets are segregated
KYT and Travel Rule
Know Your Transaction (KYT) is the screening of blockchain transfers for risk; the Travel Rule requires providers to pass on originator and beneficiary details.
Both are anti-money-laundering controls for virtual asset transfers. Zand Bank lists transaction screening, fraud monitoring, KYT and Travel Rule compliance among its custody controls, alongside KYC and KYW protocols.
Used on: screening and compliance in custody
Wallet address whitelisting
Wallet address whitelisting restricts withdrawals to a list of destination addresses that the client has approved in advance.
In general, a transfer to an unlisted address is refused until the address is approved, which limits what a compromised user account can do. Zand Bank lists address whitelisting among its custody platform features.
Used on: custody platform features
Stablecoin and payment token terms
Words used for tokens that track a currency. Zand AED is issued by Zand Trust, a subsidiary of Zand Bank PJSC; the bank itself is not the issuer. Read the risks of virtual assets and stablecoins.
Stablecoin
A stablecoin is a digital token designed to hold a stable value against a reference asset, most often a national currency.
A fiat-backed stablecoin does this by holding reserves equal to the tokens in circulation. Zand AED (AEDZ), issued by Zand Trust, is pegged 1:1 to the UAE dirham.
Used on: AED stablecoin explainer
Payment token
A payment token is the name Central Bank of the UAE rules give to a fiat-backed stablecoin, such as one pegged to the dirham.
The term comes from the Payment Token Services Regulation (Circular No. 2/2024), under which a bank issues a dirham payment token through a subsidiary. Zand Trust, a subsidiary of Zand Bank PJSC, issues Zand AED.
Used on: Zand AED dirham stablecoin
Reserve attestation
A reserve attestation is a report by an independent accountant stating whether an issuer's reserves matched the tokens in circulation on a given date.
In general it is narrower than a full financial audit. The Zand Trust transparency page lists monthly Audited Reserve Reports for February to September 2026 and shows reserves split between cash and UAE Monetary Bills.
Used on: Zand AED reserves and reports
Redemption at par
Redemption at par is the right to return a stablecoin to its issuer and receive the same amount in the reference currency.
One token returns one unit of currency, before any fees charged by the issuer or the network. Zand Trust, the issuer of Zand AED, states that AEDZ is always redeemable 1:1 for UAE dirhams.
Used on: how Zand AED is redeemed
On-ramp and off-ramp
An on-ramp converts bank money into digital assets, and an off-ramp converts digital assets back into bank money.
Together they connect a bank account to a blockchain. ZandMint is Zand Bank's on-ramp and off-ramp between fiat currency and stablecoins; the stablecoins it names are AEDZ, USDT and USDC.
Used on: ZandMint and Zand AED
Regulation terms
The authorities, the investor classes and the complaints body named on this site, described in general terms.
Central Bank of the UAE (CBUAE)
The Central Bank of the UAE is the federal authority that licenses and supervises banks, other financial institutions and insurers in the United Arab Emirates.
It also issued the Payment Token Services Regulation (Circular No. 2/2024). Zand Bank PJSC holds a banking licence from the Central Bank, announced in a release dated 5 July 2022.
Used on: Zand Bank licence details
Virtual Assets Regulatory Authority (VARA)
The Virtual Assets Regulatory Authority is the Dubai authority that licenses and supervises virtual asset activities in the Emirate of Dubai.
It publishes rulebooks, including the Custody Services Rulebook, and a public register of licence holders. The register lists Zand Bank P.J.S.C. under VARA licence no. VL/2024/12/001 for Custody Services, issued on 9 December 2024.
Used on: guide to VARA and CBUAE licences
Virtual Asset Service Provider (VASP)
A Virtual Asset Service Provider is a business that carries out virtual asset activities, such as exchange, brokerage or custody, for its clients.
In Dubai a VASP needs a VARA licence that names each permitted activity. Zand Bank's VASP Licence names one, Custody Services, and VASPs are among the clients its custody service is open to.
Used on: what a VASP licence covers
Institutional and Qualified Investor
Institutional Investor and Qualified Investor are investor classes that VARA uses in its rules and licence conditions to describe non-retail clients.
The condition on Zand Bank's VARA licence no. VL/2024/12/001 reads "Permitted to serve Institutional Investors and Qualified Investors." The custody service is therefore not offered to retail clients.
Used on: who the custody service is for
Sanadak
Sanadak is the UAE ombudsman unit that handles complaints against financial institutions and insurers that the Central Bank of the UAE licenses.
A Zand Bank client may escalate a complaint to Sanadak within 6 months of the bank's final response, through the Sanadak website, its mobile app or by phone on 800 SANADAK (7262325).
Used on: complaints and escalation steps
See how the terms are used
The Insights guides apply these terms to account opening, AED stablecoins and UAE licences.