Emirate's airline has begun accepting cryptocurrency payments, the first major airline in the Gulf to offer the option of using digital assets for flight bookings.
The option uses the Crypto.com Pay service and is live for bookings settled in dirhams on the airline's website and app, the company said in a statement on Tuesday.
It is unclear which cryptocurrencies are accepted by the feature. Crypto.com, one of the biggest exchanges worldwide, hosts more than 400 assets, including Bitcoin, Ethereum and Solana, stablecoins Tether and USD Coin, and its native token Cronos. The National has contacted Crypto.com for comment.
The move aims to cater to a “digitally affluent” generation, as well as other users opting for more convenient payment methods, said Adnan Kazim, deputy president and chief commercial officer of Emirates.
“Bringing this initiative to life [helps users to] manage their money and plan their journeys primarily from their phones, and they expect the airlines they fly with to keep pace,” he said.
“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.”
The government formed the Virtual Assets Regulatory Authority to oversee the growth and develop the infrastructure of the market. Authorities, including the Dubai International Financial Centre and Abu Dhabi's ADGM, have also encouraged investor and market participation.
Singapore-based Crypto.com, which has more than 150 million users in 90 countries, has been operating in the UAE for years. Its entity in the Emirates, Foris Dax Middle East, was granted a stored value facilities licence by the UAE Central Bank in May.
That allowed the company to activate its partnership with the Dubai Department of Finance, which includes the option for UAE residents to pay government fees with virtual assets.
Emirates is not the first airline in the UAE to offer crypto payments as an option. In May last year, Sharjah's no-frills carrier Air Arabia started the option of using AE Coin, the country's first stablecoin, to pay for bookings.
Following that, in July, Emirates, along with Dubai Duty Free, separately said they had signed an initial agreement with Crypto.com for booking payments.
Abu Dhabi's Etihad Airways is also considering crypto payments, chief executive Antonoaldo Neves told The National last September. Flights on Qatar Airways can be booked with cryptos through third-party travel platforms.
The Emirates-Crypto.com partnership “is a testament to the UAE’s forward-thinking approach to innovation”, said Eric Anziani, Crypto.com. president and chief operating officer.
