Rakbank Launches Digital Equities Trading with GTN Integration

RAKBANK has integrated a digital equities platform into its mobile app, allowing customers to trade over 30,000 global stocks and ETFs. By partnering with GTN for the underlying infrastructure, the bank is removing traditional barriers between everyday banking and wealth management, reflecting a growing trend of "super-app" consolidation in the Middle Eastern financial services sector.

What was announced

RAKBANK’s Digital Equities proposition provides direct access to international markets, including the US, UK, and Europe. The service is built into the existing RAKBANK mobile app, featuring a fully digital onboarding process that eliminates the need for separate brokerage forms or external relationships. Customers can manage their investments alongside their daily banking activities within a single interface. The platform currently offers more than 30,000 stocks and exchange-traded funds (ETFs).

While the initial launch focuses on global exchanges, the bank has confirmed that access to UAE equities is planned for a future phase of the rollout. Pricing for the service is designed to lower the barrier to entry for retail investors, with fees for US equity trades starting at USD 1 per transaction. This new feature expands RAKBANK’s existing wealth management ecosystem, which already includes fixed income, investment funds, precious metals, foreign exchange, and digital assets. By consolidating these asset classes, the bank aims to provide a unified platform for wealth diversification and management. GTN provides the essential brokerage technology, execution services, and global market connectivity that power the trade lifecycle behind the scenes.

"We believe investing should be as frictionless as everyday banking. Customers increasingly want the ability to manage their finances and grow their wealth through a trusted, all-in-one platform. With the launch of Digital Equities, we are giving customers seamless access to more than 30,000 global stocks and ETFs directly through the Rakbank app, making it easier than ever to invest in international markets from a platform they already know and trust."

Shehzad Hameed, Managing Director, Retail Banking at Rakbank

The companies involved

RAKBANK, also known as the National Bank of Ras Al Khaimah, is a prominent financial institution in the United Arab Emirates. It has historically positioned itself as a leader in retail and small-to-medium enterprise (SME) banking, recently expanding its digital footprint to capture the growing demand for integrated wealth services. The bank operates as a public joint stock company and is listed on the Abu Dhabi Securities Exchange (ADX). GTN is a global fintech firm specializing in investment and trading infrastructure. The company provides a comprehensive "trading-as-a-service" model, offering API-driven access to global markets for banks, brokers, and wealth managers. GTN’s platform is designed to handle the complexities of multi-asset execution and custody, allowing financial institutions to launch investment products without building the underlying brokerage stack from scratch. Damian Bunce serves as the CEO of GTN Middle East, overseeing the firm’s expansion in the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) region, where the demand for digital-first wealth management solutions is rapidly increasing among both traditional banks and neo-brokers.

What FF News has reported before

FF News has tracked GTN’s aggressive expansion across global markets and its integration of institutional-grade infrastructure. Recently, the firm secured a partnership with AmInvestment Bank to expand global market access in Malaysia. In the Middle East, GTN collaborated with State Street Investment Management to enhance wealth tech capabilities in the GCC. Furthermore, GTN bolstered its compliance framework through a trade surveillance partnership with Solidus Labs. RAKBANK has also been active in digital transformation; FF News previously covered its collaboration with RAKEZ to launch a 60-minute business banking service for entrepreneurs in the UAE.

What this means

This move signals a significant shift in the UAE banking landscape, where traditional lenders are under increasing pressure from digital-only challengers and specialized wealth-tech apps. By embedding 30,000 global instruments directly into its core app, RAKBANK is effectively neutralizing the advantage of third-party brokerage platforms that have historically captured the younger, tech-savvy demographic. For the wider industry, this raises the bar for "all-in-one" banking. The reliance on GTN’s infrastructure also highlights a growing trend of banks outsourcing the heavy lifting of global market connectivity to fintech specialists rather than maintaining expensive, proprietary brokerage desks. The question now is how quickly competitors will respond with similar multi-asset integrations.