Emirates Airlines plans to accept crypto payments through Crypto.com

Emirates Airlines has utilized Crypto.com’s Pay solution, enabling its customers to use it via its website and application, with transactions processed in compliance with UAE regulatory standards.

Crypto.com Pay™ is available to eligible UAE residents for bookings priced and settled in UAE fiat currency, the AED. Earlier this year, Crypto.com, through its UAE entity, Foris DAX Middle East FZE, received a Stored Value Facilities (SVF) license from the Central Bank of the UAE, allowing it to offer crypto payments in the UAE.

Adnan Kazim, Emirates Airlines Deputy President and Chief Commercial Officer, noted that this initiative expands their commitment to customer choice in how they pay for travel, reflecting the preferences of a younger generation who use their phones.

He stated, “Moving from signature to launch with Crypto.com in under 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, noted that this partnership is a milestone for Crypto.com and is a testament to the UAE’s forward-thinking approach to innovation.

Emirates Airlines customers will see Crypto.com Pay as a payment option

When customers use the website emirates.com or the Emirates application, they can opt for Crypto.com Pay at checkout and can complete the payment using their wallet on their phone or a QR code on a desktop and then approve the payment using the application.

Once payment is approved, booking is confirmed, and an e-ticket is issued on their screen.

The service is part of Dubai’s Cashless Strategy under the D33 Economic Agenda. It aims to make 90 percent of all financial transactions across government and private sectors digital by the end of 2026.

Emirates Airlines joins only three other airlines globally in crypto payments, and they are airBaltic from Latvia, Vueling in Spain, and Peach Aviation in Japan.

It is noteworthy that it will be Crypto.com’s entity that will accept the payments and then exchange them into either an AED stablecoin or an AED fiat currency to Emirates Airlines. This is because the UAE Central Bank only accepts regulated AED stablecoins or AED fiat currency for the payment of goods and products in the country.