Payment Processing in the United Arab Emirates

• Currency: UAE dirham (AED), pegged to the US dollar at 3.6725 since 1997.
• How people pay: 68% of consumers mostly pay by card or phone, and only 16% use cash for everyday purchases (Visa, January 2026).
• Local rails: Aani, the instant payment platform launched in October 2023, and Jaywan, the national card scheme, with nationwide card issuance from July 2026.
• Key regulator for payments: the Central Bank of the UAE (CBUAE), under its Retail Payment Services and Card Schemes Regulation.
• Crypto: VARA in Dubai, the SCA in the other emirates, the FSRA in ADGM and the DFSA in the DIFC, with the CBUAE covering payment tokens.
• Gambling: illegal unless licensed by the General Commercial Gaming Regulatory Authority (GCGRA), set up in September 2023.

Visa's Where Cash Hides report, published in January 2026, found that about 80% of UAE payments are digital, mobile payments make up 21% of transactions, and 68% of consumers now mostly pay by card or phone, up 7 percentage points in a year. Debit cards and mobile wallets carry everyday spending, while credit cards are used more for planned and larger purchases. Online, that means a UAE checkout needs Visa and Mastercard cards and the major mobile wallets.

Two local rails are growing next to the international schemes. Aani, launched on 16 October 2023 by Al Etihad Payments, a subsidiary of the Central Bank, lets people send money instantly around the clock using a mobile number and pay merchants by QR code. Jaywan, the UAE's first domestic card scheme, was announced on 27 February 2025 for debit, prepaid and credit cards, online, at ATMs and in stores. Nationwide issuance by banks and exchange houses was inaugurated on 20 July 2026 and is rolling out in phases. Jaywan cards can be mono-badged, mainly for domestic use, or co-badged with Visa, Mastercard, Discover or UnionPay for international payments.

• Payment services such as merchant acquiring and payment aggregation are licensed by the CBUAE under the Retail Payment Services and Card Schemes Regulation, in force since July 2021. Card schemes need their own CBUAE licence.
• The new Central Bank law, Federal Decree-Law No. 6 of 2025, came into force on 16 September 2025 and gave firms until 15 September 2026 to align. It brings virtual asset payment services and decentralised finance into the Central Bank's licensing perimeter.
• UAE banks have been moving customers from SMS and email one-time passwords to in-app authentication since 25 July 2025, with SMS and email codes to be fully phased out by March 2026. Expect more online card payments to be confirmed in the banking app.
• Under the CBUAE Payment Token Services Regulation (Circular 2/2024), merchants outside the DIFC and ADGM can accept dirham payment tokens directly. Other crypto has to be converted into dirham payment tokens by a licensed provider before it reaches the merchant.
• Personal data: the federal Personal Data Protection Law (Federal Decree-Law No. 45 of 2021) applies onshore, while the DIFC and ADGM have their own data protection laws.

The first question is where the company is licensed. A mainland company holds a trade licence from its emirate's economic department, a commercial free zone company such as one in the DMCC is licensed by its free zone authority, and the DIFC and ADGM are financial free zones with their own laws, courts and financial regulators (the DFSA and the FSRA). Providers check that the licensed activity on your trade licence matches what you actually sell online.

• Trade licence, memorandum or articles of association, and the shareholder and manager register.
• Beneficial ownership: mainland and commercial free zone companies keep a beneficial owner register under Cabinet Decision No. 109 of 2023.
• Passports and Emirates IDs for shareholders, managers and beneficial owners.
• Any regulatory licence your activity needs: VARA, SCA, DFSA or FSRA for crypto and investment services, GCGRA for gaming.
• A UAE bank account in the company's name for AED settlement, and a website that shows what you sell, prices and refund terms.

Crypto: virtual asset service providers in Dubai, outside the DIFC, are licensed by VARA, set up under Dubai Law No. 4 of 2022. Since September 2024 VARA-licensed firms are automatically registered with the SCA, which licenses providers targeting the other emirates. ADGM has run its own virtual asset framework under the FSRA since 2018, and the DFSA covers the DIFC. Providers ask which of these licences you hold before they look at anything else.

Forex and CFDs: onshore, the SCA rulebook (Decision No. 13 of 2021) covers brokerage in OTC derivatives and currencies in the spot market, and firms in the DIFC and ADGM are authorised by the DFSA or the FSRA. A broker with one of these licences reads very differently to an offshore broker marketing to UAE residents.

Gambling: gambling is a crime under the UAE Penal Code unless it is licensed by the GCGRA. The GCGRA licensed its first business, the national lottery operator, in July 2024, granted the first casino licence to Wynn Al Marjan Island in Ras Al Khaimah in October 2024, and licensed the first internet gaming and sports wagering website in December 2025, for players aged 21 and over who are physically in the UAE. The GCGRA states that any commercial gaming without its licence is illegal, so for UAE players a GCGRA licence is the starting point of any gambling payment application. Offshore operators targeting the UAE are outside that system.

A foreign company does not need a UAE entity to take payments from UAE customers by international card, because most UAE cards run on Visa or Mastercard and are accepted cross-border. Local options are a different matter: mono-badged Jaywan cards mainly run on the domestic network and Aani is a UAE rail, so reaching them usually means working through a provider that collects in the UAE. Plan for wallets too, since many UAE shoppers pay by phone.

Tax is part of the decision. UAE VAT is 5%, and a foreign business selling to UAE consumers, including digital services used in the UAE, may need to register with the Federal Tax Authority with no registration threshold for non-residents. Take tax advice before you launch.

Acquipayer is not a payment provider. You add your business, licences, markets, volumes and the payment methods you need once, and your profile is matched with a payment provider that accepts your business type and can collect from UAE customers, whether you are a mainland, free zone or foreign company. Your account is then prepared with that provider so you can start taking payments.

• Central Bank of the UAE, Retail Payment Services and Card Schemes Regulation, and Payment Token Services Regulation (Circular 2/2024).
• Federal Decree-Law No. 6 of 2025 on the Central Bank, as summarised by Hadef & Partners.
• Al Etihad Payments, press releases on Aani (16 October 2023) and Jaywan (27 February 2025 and 20 July 2026).
• Visa, Where Cash Hides report, January 2026, as reported by Khaleej Times.
• DLA Piper, The regulatory landscape for digital assets in the UAE (2025).
• Securities and Commodities Authority Rulebook, Decision No. 13 of 2021, as summarised by Clifford Chance.
• General Commercial Gaming Regulatory Authority licensing announcements, as reported by Khaleej Times and iGaming Business.
• Cabinet Decision No. 109 of 2023 on beneficial owners, and Federal Decree-Law No. 45 of 2021 on personal data protection.