Fly me to the moon: Emirates to integrate crypto payments

Emirates has signed a Memorandum of Understanding with Crypto.com that will allow customers to make payments through Crypto.com Pay, the trading platform’s payment service. The announcement was made on Wednesday through an official statement and via a post on X:

The deal outlines Emirates’ intention to integrate Crypto.com Pay into its payment systems sometime next year. The move is part of a broader trend of airlines (and other major industries) adopting alternative payment methods.

According to Emirates’ Deputy President and Chief Commercial Officer Adnan Kazim, the initiative is designed to "[tap] into younger, tech-savvy customer segments who prefer digital currencies". For example, Air Arabia recently started accepting the UAE-dirham-backed stablecoin AE Coin which allows customers to select the AEC Wallet at checkout when booking via their website.

Adnan Kazim, Emirates’ Deputy President and Chief Commercial Officer, stated that:

Partnering with Crypto.com to integrate cryptocurrency into our digital payments system reflects Emirates’ commitment to meeting evolving customer preferences, in addition to tapping into younger, tech-savvy customer segments who prefer digital currencies. This strategic move is in line with Dubai’s vision to be at the forefront of financial innovation while at the same time providing our customers with greater flexibility and choice in how they transact with Emirates.

Eric Anziani, President and Chief Operating Officer of Crypto.com, commented further:

As we continue to expand the everyday use case for crypto, integration with exceptional partners such as Emirates will bring real momentum to the digital asset industry and enable both companies to offer genuine innovative finance solutions for our customers.

Crypto.com’s UAE president, along with senior executives from both companies, were present during the MoU signing. Both organisations are also planning joint marketing campaigns to raise awareness and drive usage once the integration launches.

The initiative aligns with Dubai’s push to become a global crypto innovation hub, illustrated by the recent approval of the tokenised money market fund QCDT by the Dubai Financial Services Authority, while also reflecting a broader trend toward making real-world crypto use cases more accessible to the public. This trends are expected to continue as stablecoins receive wider adoption as a payment method.

Written by Steven Pettigrove and Emma Assaf