Emirates launches Crypto.com Pay for flight bookings in UAE

Emirates has launched Crypto.com Pay as a payment option for eligible customers in the United Arab Emirates, allowing flight bookings priced and settled in Emirati dirhams (AED) to be paid through Crypto.com on emirates.com and the Emirates App. The rollout — the first phase of a collaboration announced in July 2025 — enables UAE residents with Crypto.com accounts to select Crypto.com Pay at checkout, with transactions processed through a secure payment gateway in compliance with UAE regulatory standards.

“Bringing this initiative to life delivers on our commitment to expanding customer choice in how they pay for travel,” said Adnan Kazim, Deputy President & Chief Commercial Officer at Emirates. “It also reflects the rapidly evolving preferences of a younger, digitally fluent generation who manage their money and plan their journeys primarily from their phones and they expect the airlines they fly with to keep pace. Moving from signature to launch with Crypto.com in a year is a credit to both teams, and to a regulatory environment that makes this kind of innovation possible, reflecting the UAE’s and Dubai’s ambition to lead in fintech and the digital economy.”

Eric Anziani, President and Chief Operating Officer at Crypto.com, welcomed the partnership: “Partnering with Emirates is a milestone for Crypto.com and our Pay feature, which is renowned for its ease of use and seamless integration. This collaboration is a testament to the UAE’s forward thinking approach to innovation and we’re proud to support Emirates as it embraces the digital payments space.”

Key facts and mechanics of the launch:

• Availability: Crypto.com Pay is available to eligible UAE residents for bookings priced and settled in AED via the Emirates website and mobile app.
• Transaction flow (mobile): Customers choosing Crypto.com Pay are redirected to the Crypto.com app to complete payment, then return to the Emirates App to receive booking confirmation and the e‑ticket.
• Transaction flow (desktop): On emirates.com, a QR code is displayed during checkout; customers scan the QR with the Crypto.com app to approve payment and receive confirmation and the e‑ticket.
• Regulatory footing: The integration is powered by Crypto.com’s Dubai entity, identified as the first Virtual Asset Service Provider (VASP) to receive a Stored Value Facilities (SVF) license from the Central Bank of the UAE, and it operates within the SVF regulatory framework for secure and compliant payment processing.
• Origin of partnership: The deployment follows a Memorandum of Understanding signed between Emirates and Crypto.com in July 2025 to explore and integrate Crypto.com Pay into Emirates’ digital payment ecosystem.
• Strategic alignment: The launch supports the Dubai Cashless Strategy under the D33 Economic Agenda, which targets making 90 percent of financial transactions across government and private sectors digital by the end of 2026.
• Wider cooperation: The move builds on Emirates’ broader work with Dubai Finance to advance digital payments and aligns with Crypto.com’s collaboration with Dubai Finance to enable digital payments for government services.

Outlook: The initial phase positions Emirates to expand digital payment options for customers who hold crypto-linked wallets while testing operational and regulatory workflows under the UAE’s SVF framework. If adoption grows among the digitally fluent customer segment cited by Adnan Kazim, Emirates and Crypto.com may proceed to widen the offering beyond AED‑settled bookings and refine user flows across devices. The launch also serves as a tangible example of private-sector implementations aligned with the D33 target to digitise the majority of transactions in Dubai by the end of 2026.