Emirates switches on crypto payments for UAE residents via Crypto.com Pay

Emirates has switched on Crypto.com Pay as a checkout option on its website and app, letting eligible UAE residents book flights and settle payment directly from their Crypto.com wallet, the airline and exchange announced Tuesday.

The feature is available to customers with a Crypto.com account booking on emirates.com or the Emirates App, for bookings priced and settled in UAE dirhams.

On mobile, users are redirected to the Crypto.com app to approve payment before returning to Emirates to receive their e-ticket; on desktop, they scan a QR code and approve the transaction from their phone.
The launch follows a Memorandum of Understanding Emirates and Crypto.com signed in July 2025 to explore integrating the payment feature into the airline’s systems.

“Moving from signature to launch with Crypto.com in under a year is a credit to both teams,” said Adnan Kazim, Emirates’ Deputy President and Chief Commercial Officer, framing the rollout as reflecting “the rapidly evolving preferences of a younger, digitally fluent generation.”

The integration runs through Crypto.com’s Dubai entity, which holds a Stored Value Facilities licence from the Central Bank of the UAE, the first Virtual Asset Service Provider to receive one, according to the companies. Eric Anziani, Crypto.com’s President and Chief Operating Officer, called the deal “a milestone for Crypto.com and our Pay feature.”

The rollout also feeds into Dubai’s broader Cashless Strategy under the D33 Economic Agenda, which targets 90% of financial transactions across government and private sectors going digital by the end of 2026. It builds on a separate 2025 partnership between Emirates and Dubai Finance, as well as Crypto.com’s own deal to accept digital payments for Dubai government services.

Worth noting: while earlier coverage of the 2025 MoU suggested Emirates would eventually support direct payment in over 30 cryptocurrencies including Bitcoin, Ethereum, and XRP, today’s launch is narrower in scope, it works through Crypto.com’s wallet infrastructure and is currently limited to UAE residents transacting in dirhams, rather than open crypto payment for any traveler.