Emirates and Dubai Duty Free went live with crypto payments within two weeks of each other, powered by Crypto.com under a Stored Value Facility license from the Central Bank of the UAE. In this episode of Wall Street to MENA on Fintech.Tv, host Raghda Ibraheem sits down with Mohamed Al Hakim, President and General Manager for the UAE and Bahrain at Crypto.com, to break down how the mechanism actually works.
The key detail: Emirates and Dubai Duty Free are not holding digital assets. When a customer pays with crypto, Crypto.com converts the token into AED at the point of transaction and settles directly with the merchant in dirhams. The merchant carries zero digital asset exposure. Al Hakim explains why this fiat-settlement structure, required under the Central Bank’s Stored Value Facility license, was the detail that made both partnerships possible.
The conversation also covers what’s next: an agreement with Dubai’s Department of Finance to bring Crypto.com Pay into the emirate’s government payment stack, alongside Apple Pay, Android Pay and Google Pay. Once live, residents will be able to pay RTA fines, Dubai Police fines, land transactions and vehicle renewals through the platform, with settlement to the Dubai government in AED. Integration is complete; the launch awaits government sign-off.