It will develop products to bridge gaps in personal and business banking and will help the "savings [and] investment goals of both Emiratis and expats alike", he said.
The licence granting follows the launch of the UAE's first independent digital bank, known as Zand, on Monday.
Zand also plans to focus on retail and corporate clients.
ADQ, the conglomerate that owns Abu Dhabi government stakes in a range of businesses, said last year it planned to set up a digital bank in the UAE using a legacy banking licence held by First Abu Dhabi Bank.
A Boston Consulting Group survey that polled more than 2,000 respondents in the UAE last year found that 87 per cent would be willing to open an account with a branchless, online bank.