Middle East & North Africa · GDP rank #25
United Arab Emirates
AE · AED @ 0.2723/USD
The UAE has built the most ambitious state-led payments programme in the Gulf — Aani instant payments live since 2023 (12.5m users by May 2026), Jaywan domestic card scheme past 10m cards ahead of mandated targets, Digital Dirham retail launched March 2026, and CBUAE remains an active mBridge participant. The 88% non-citizen labour-force structure makes outbound remittance — US$45.5bn in 2024, largely to India, Pakistan and the Philippines — the anchor use case.
Tab 03
Rails & infrastructure
The instant rail, the RTGS spine, the card switch, the direct-debit scheme, and the country's CBDC stance. Each rail is reported with operator, launch year, and 2024 flow so the relative scale across rails is readable at a glance.
CBDC status is deliberately granular: live, pilot, preparation, live stalled, and sceptical, no pilot are different things.
Digital Dirham
Target · retail launched March 2026 (CBUAE)
Retail Digital Dirham went live to the public in March 2026, following the 2025 phased pilot with Emirates NBD, FAB, ADCB, Mashreq, ADIB, HSBC UAE and Standard Chartered UAE. Enables P2P, cross-border settlement with Saudi Arabia, India and China (via mBridge), and integration with UAE Pass. CBUAE remains a core mBridge wholesale participant.
Instant payments
Aani
The instant leg typically carries the vast majority of retail consumer flow in modern payment systems — and sits in direct tension with card networks and wallets for the same transactions.
Aani launched October 2023; by end-2024 all UAE banks integrated. QR + account alias + P2M use cases live. Bilateral sarie corridor live March 2026.
- Operator
- Al Etihad Payments (CBUAE subsidiary)
- Live since
- 2.0k
- Per-txn limit
- 50,000 AED
- Fee per txn
- AED 0 for consumers (under AED 50,000 P2P)
Transactions · 2024
Cleared value · 2024
Participating institutions
RTGS
UAEFTS (UAE Funds Transfer System)
The RTGS spine clears high-value interbank flow — including the settlement of the instant-rail cycles and card-network net positions. Transaction count is modest; cleared value is enormous.
- Operator
- CBUAE
Transactions · 2024
Cleared value · 2024
Card switch
UAESWITCH + Al Etihad Payments
UAESWITCH is the legacy bank-consortium switch; AEP launched 2022 as CBUAE subsidiary to operate Jaywan, Aani and Digital Dirham.
Source · Al Etihad Payments (AEP)
Direct debit
UAE Direct Debit System (UAEDDS)
Direct debit is the boring rail that carries recurring subscriptions, utilities, and payroll pull-payments. It is routinely the largest single channel by count after cards.
Transactions · 2024