Dubai is moving closer to becoming a fully cashless society following a new agreement announced at the Dubai Fintech Summit. The initiative, spearheaded by the Dubai Department of Finance (DOF), will introduce a digital payment channel enabling individuals and businesses to pay government service fees using cryptocurrency.
The collaboration, involving the global exchange platform Crypto.com, will allow users to make payments through its digital wallets. While the DOF has not confirmed the specific cryptocurrencies that will be accepted, it hinted that only “stable cryptocurrencies” would be supported, likely pointing to stablecoins. All crypto transactions will be instantly converted into UAE dirhams before being transferred into DOF accounts.
Amna Mohammed Lootah, Director of Digital Payment Systems Regulation, emphasized that integrating crypto payments is part of a wider ambition to digitize 90% of all financial transactions in the public and private sectors by 2026.
“We are confident that this milestone will significantly accelerate the advancement of the Dubai Cashless Strategy,”
Lootah stated at the summit.
The city’s broader cashless strategy, initially unveiled in October 2024, aims to revolutionize how payments are made across the Emirate. According to the DOF, 97% of all government payments were processed digitally by the end of 2023.
This strategic shift is expected to contribute over 8 billion dirhams (approximately $2.1 billion) to the economy, driven by innovation in fintech services and Dubai’s expanding digital finance ecosystem.
Ahmad Ali Meftah, Executive Director of the Central Accounts Sector at the DOF, reiterated the government’s commitment to fostering a secure and innovation-friendly regulatory environment for digital payments.
The announcement comes on the heels of Abu Dhabi’s April declaration, where a coalition of leading institutions, including the Emirate’s sovereign wealth fund, revealed plans to launch a stablecoin pegged to the dirham, further signalling the UAE’s growing embrace of digital currencies.
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