Published: 2026-08-18
The UAE will roll out acceptance of Jaywan, the country’s national payment card, across hotels and tourist attractions in all seven emirates. The decision was taken by the Emirates Tourism Council at its meeting in Al Zorah, Ajman, chaired by Abdulla bin Touq Al Marri, Minister of Economy and Tourism, and reported by Gulf News on 2026-08-18. The card will also be connected to the country’s major privilege programmes, Esaad, Fazaa and Al Saada, so that cardholders unlock discounts automatically when they pay. The move is designed to stimulate domestic tourism and keep more spending inside the UAE, feeding the National Tourism Strategy 2031 target of raising the tourism sector’s contribution to GDP to AED 450 billion.
What the Emirates Tourism Council decided
The Emirates Tourism Council brings together the heads and directors-general of the local tourism authorities of all seven emirates under the chairmanship of the Minister of Economy and Tourism. At the Al Zorah meeting the council agreed to expand acceptance of the Jaywan card across hotels and tourist attractions nationwide. The stated goal is straightforward: make it easier for residents to pay with the national card wherever they travel inside the country, encourage domestic tourism and increase in-country spending.
The second part of the decision is just as significant. The council discussed developing partnerships between Jaywan and the UAE’s established privilege programmes: Esaad, the Dubai Police-founded discount scheme, Fazaa, the programme serving Ministry of Interior staff and wider community categories, and Al Saada. Linking a payment card to these programmes turns it into a loyalty instrument: instead of showing a separate membership card, the discount can follow the payment itself. The council also reviewed the UAE’s programme of participation in international tourism exhibitions, which runs through March 2027.
What Jaywan is and why it matters
Jaywan is the UAE’s first domestic card scheme, operated by Al Etihad Payments, a subsidiary of the Central Bank of the UAE. It was developed with India’s NPCI International Payments under an agreement signed in October 2023 and is modelled on India’s RuPay network, which has operated since 2012. The scheme is being rolled out in phases: eleven financial institutions already issue Jaywan cards, including FAB, ADCB, Emirates Islamic, CBD, Citi, Mbank and Botim, with more banks, exchange houses and fintechs joining in subsequent waves.
The current product line covers the Jaywan Prestige Debit Card, the Jaywan Royal Debit Card and a prepaid card, with credit cards announced as coming soon. Cards work for in-store and online payments, ATM withdrawals and digital wallets. International acceptance is expanding in phases to more than 100 countries, and a partnership with UnionPay extends reach to 183 countries. Cardholders already get offers at more than 150 merchants across travel, hotels, dining, entertainment and wellness, and the scheme’s core promise to banks and customers is lower processing fees than international networks charge.
The strategic context: AED 450 billion by 2031
The tourism push behind this decision is measurable. The National Tourism Strategy 2031 targets raising the tourism sector’s contribution to the UAE’s GDP to AED 450 billion by 2031. The sector enters this phase from a record base: UAE hotels received 32.34 million guests in 2025, up 5.2% from 30.75 million in 2024, and hotel revenues reached about AED 49 billion for the year.
Domestic tourism is one of the levers the strategy leans on. When residents holiday inside the country and pay with a domestic card, the spending stays in the local economy twice over: the money goes to a UAE hotel or attraction, and the transaction is processed by national payment infrastructure rather than an international network. That is the same logic that has driven record profitability across the country’s banking sector, which we covered in our review of UAE banks’ record 2025 results.
What wider Jaywan acceptance means for business
For companies operating in the UAE, or planning to enter the market, the decision is a signal in several directions:
- Hospitality and attractions operators will be expected to accept Jaywan at the point of sale. POS and payment gateway contracts are worth reviewing now, before acceptance becomes a standard licensing-adjacent expectation in the sector.
- Retail, F&B and leisure businesses near tourist locations gain a new customer segment: privilege-programme members whose discounts activate through the card they already hold.
- Lower acquiring costs. A domestic scheme processes transactions locally, and its pitch is cheaper acceptance than international networks. For merchants with thin margins, payment routing is a real cost line.
- Fintech and payments companies get an expanding national rail to build on: issuance, loyalty integration and merchant acquiring around Jaywan are all growth niches backed by the Central Bank’s infrastructure agenda.
- Investors in tourism assets get another data point that the state is actively engineering demand for domestic tourism, from funding programmes to payment plumbing.
How Atlant Capital can help
Atlant Capital sets up companies in the UAE for founders who want to work in this market with full infrastructure: licence, visas, bank account and payment acceptance. If you are launching a hospitality, travel, retail or fintech venture, we will structure the company in the right jurisdiction through our company setup service, and open the corporate account with a bank that fits your payment flows through our bank account opening service, including guidance on acquiring and card acceptance options for UAE customers.
Conclusion
The Jaywan expansion is a small operational decision with a large strategic footprint. The UAE is wiring its national payment card into the tourism economy, tying it to privilege programmes that millions of residents hold, and pointing the whole mechanism at the AED 450 billion tourism GDP target for 2031. For businesses in hospitality, retail and payments, the practical takeaway is simple: Jaywan acceptance is moving from optional to expected, and the ecosystem forming around the card is where new demand will surface first.
FAQ
What is the Jaywan card and who operates it?
Jaywan is the UAE’s first domestic payment card scheme, operated by Al Etihad Payments, a subsidiary of the Central Bank of the UAE. It was built with India’s NPCI International under a 2023 agreement and modelled on the RuPay network. Eleven financial institutions already issue the cards, including FAB, ADCB, Emirates Islamic, CBD, Citi, Mbank and Botim.
Where will Jaywan cards be accepted after this decision?
The Emirates Tourism Council decided to expand Jaywan acceptance to hotels and tourist attractions across all seven emirates, on top of existing in-store, online and ATM use. Internationally the card is rolling out to more than 100 countries in phases, and a UnionPay partnership extends acceptance to 183 countries.
What are the Esaad, Fazaa and Al Saada programmes?
They are the UAE’s largest privilege and discount programmes, offering members reduced prices at thousands of merchants, from hotels and airlines to retail and healthcare. The council plans to connect them with Jaywan, so cardholders can access programme discounts directly through the payment card at hotels and attractions.
What does wider Jaywan acceptance mean for businesses in the UAE?
Hotels, attractions, retail and F&B operators should prepare to accept Jaywan at the point of sale, and can expect lower acquiring costs than on international networks. For fintech companies, issuance, loyalty integration and merchant acquiring around the national scheme are growth niches. The decision supports the National Tourism Strategy 2031 and its AED 450 billion tourism GDP target.
