Al Etihad Payments
Al Etihad Payments is a wholly-owned subsidiary of the Central Bank of the UAE that operates the country's national payment infrastructure, serving licensed financial institutions through four core platforms: Aani (instant payments), Jaywan (domestic card scheme), UAESWITCH (ATM/POS switching), and UAEWPS (wage protection).
- Company typePrivate
- Founded2023
- HeadquartersAbu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates
- Headcount501–1,000
- GTM typeB2B
- OfferingServices
What Al Etihad Payments does
Al Etihad Payments (AEP) is a wholly-owned subsidiary of the Central Bank of the United Arab Emirates, established in 2023 to operate the country's national payment infrastructure. Headquartered in Abu Dhabi with 501–1,000 employees, the company functions as a B2B payment platform serving licensed financial institutions—banks, exchange houses, and other regulated entities—across the UAE. AEP's product portfolio consists of four core services: Aani, an instant payments platform enabling real-time fund transfers up to AED 50,000 via mobile numbers, email addresses, and QR codes with features including Proxy Payments, Request to Pay, and Split Payments; Jaywan, the UAE's domestic card payment scheme covering debit, prepaid, and gift cards with data localized within the UAE; UAESWITCH, a national ATM and POS debit switching network linking all UAE banks and available across GCC countries; and UAEWPS, the Wages Protection System facilitating compliant salary disbursement to employees.
The underlying technology is built on ISO 20022 messaging standards with open API interoperability, supporting real-time processing at scale—Aani reportedly executes transfers in 3 seconds and serves 12.5 million users across 74 integrated financial institutions. Cross-border capabilities are being developed through the International Remittance Platform Gateway (implemented with Montran, with initial integration into India's Unified Payments Interface) and the mBridge CBDC platform connecting with central banks in India and China. Jaywan has secured co-badging agreements with Discover, Mastercard, UnionPay, and Visa for international card acceptance.
AEP's business model is transaction-fee based, with revenue derived from licensed financial institutions for infrastructure services including instant payment processing, card scheme operations, ATM network switching, and wage protection system access. Pricing is not publicly disclosed, as arrangements are negotiated directly with institutional clients. The go-to-market is exclusively B2B2C—financial institutions integrate with AEP via APIs and deliver services to their end customers through mobile banking applications and digital channels. The company operates within the Financial Infrastructure Transformation Programme launched by the Central Bank of the UAE, positioning itself as the sole national payment infrastructure operator with regulatory mandate and government backing.
Al Etihad Payments firmographics
Firmographics- Name
- Al Etihad Payments
- Legal name
- Al Etihad Payments
- Website
- https://aep.ae
- Company type
- Private
- Founded year
- 2023
- Operating status
- Operating
- Headcount range
- 501–1,000 employees
- Short description
- Al Etihad Payments is a wholly-owned subsidiary of the Central Bank of the UAE that operates the country's national payment infrastructure, serving licensed financial institutions through four core platforms: Aani (instant payments), Jaywan (domestic card scheme), UAESWITCH (ATM/POS switching), and UAEWPS (wage protection).
- Ownership category
- akta.pro rank
Al Etihad Payments industry classification
Industry- Product category
- Payment Infrastructure
- NAICS
- Financial Transactions Processing, Reserve, and Clearinghouse Activities (522320), Financial Transactions Processing, Reserve, and Clearinghouse Activities (52232)
- SIC
- Finance Services (6199), Security & Commodity Brokers, Dealers, Exchanges & Services (6200)
- akta.pro primary industry
- A2A Checkout & Merchant Acceptance Solutions (FSAMAFAF)
- akta.pro secondary industries
- Instant Payouts & Earned Wage Access (EWA) (FSAMAKAM), International Bill Pay & Cross-Border Airtime/Top-Up (FSAGAKAM), Merchant-of-Record (MoR) & Payment Facilitation (PayFac) Infrastructure (FSAGABAE), Crypto Payment Gateways & Checkout APIs (FSADAIAA)
Keywords
Where Al Etihad Payments is headquartered
LocationHeadquarters
- HQ city
- Abu Dhabi
- HQ country
- United Arab Emirates
- HQ region
- Middle East
Offices1 record
Markets served
Al Etihad Payments business model
Business model- GTM type
- B2B
- Offering type
- Services
- Cost components
- Technology or R&D, Personnel, Operations, Infrastructure
Revenue model
- Payment Infrastructure Services: Revenue generated from providing national payment infrastructure to licensed financial institutions. This includes transaction processing fees for Aani instant payments, card scheme processing for Jaywan, ATM network switching fees for UAESWITCH, and wage protection system fees for UAEWPS.
- Card Scheme Operations: Fees collected from financial institutions for issuing and processing Jaywan domestic cards. The scheme provides localized payment processing ensuring data stays within UAE borders.
- Cross-Border Payment Services: Revenue from international remittance services through the International Remittance Platform Gateway, enabling efficient cross-border payments between UAE and partner countries like India.
Go-to-market motion2 records
Distribution channels4 records
Marketing channels3 records
Al Etihad Payments product offering
Product offeringCore offering
Al Etihad Payments operates as the national payment infrastructure operator for the UAE, providing instant payments (Aani), a domestic card scheme (Jaywan), ATM network switching (UAESWITCH), and a wage protection system (UAEWPS). The company enables licensed financial institutions to integrate with these platforms via APIs for real-time fund transfers, card processing, and cross-border connectivity, supported by ISO 20022 standards and open API interoperability.
Product overview
Al Etihad Payments operates as a subsidiary of the Central Bank of the UAE providing national payment infrastructure. The company's product portfolio consists of four core services: Aani (instant payments platform enabling real-time transfers up to AED 50,000 via mobile numbers, email, and QR codes with Proxy Payments and Request to Pay features), Jaywan (domestic card payment scheme with debit, prepaid, and gift cards, co-badged with global networks), UAESWITCH (national ATM and POS network linking all UAE banks), and UAEWPS (wage protection system for employers).
Differentiator
Problem solved
Functional benefit
Brands
- Aani: National instant payments platform enabling real-time money transfers using mobile numbers, email addresses and QR codes, with transfers up to AED 50,000 on 24/7 basis
- Jaywan
- UAESWITCH
- UAEWPS
Products and services
- Aani Aani is the UAE's national instant payments platform that enables real-time money transfers up to AED 50,000 on a 24/7 basis using mobile numbers, email addresses, and QR codes. It offers innovative services including Proxy Payments, QR-code-based payments, Request to Pay, and Split Payments, and is integrated with 74 financial institutions serving 12.5 million users.
- Jaywan Jaywan is the UAE's domestic card payment scheme that localizes debit card transactions, ensuring payment-related data is processed and stored within the UAE. It is offered as debit, prepaid, and gift cards, with co-badging agreements enabling global acceptance through Discover, Mastercard, UnionPay, and Visa networks.
- UAESWITCH UAESWITCH links the ATM networks of all banks in the UAE, enabling customers to safely and securely use any ATM in the UAE. It also processes domestic Point of Sale (POS) debit card transactions and is available across GCC countries where the GCCNET logo is displayed.
- UAEWPS (Wages Protection System) UAEWPS (UAE Wages Protection System) provides a safe, secure, efficient, and robust mechanism to streamline the timely payment of wages to employees by their employers, ensuring compliance with UAE labor regulations.
- International Remittance Platform Gateway The International Remittance Platform (IRP) Gateway is a cross-border payment connectivity platform that consolidates multiple bilateral protocols into a single standard supporting ISO 20022, real-time message transformation, and open API interoperability. Initial rollout integrates with India's Unified Payments Interface for efficient cross-border payments between UAE and partner countries.
Quantifiable outcome
- 12.5 million Aani users by 2025/2026
- +3 more outcomes
Companies that use Al Etihad Payments
Customer profileNamed customers4 records
Segments3 records
Ideal customer profiles1 record
Al Etihad Payments technology and API
TechnologyTechnology focussed Yes
API detail
- Has API
- No
- API docs
- API detail
Core technology
AI maturity
App detail
Integration2 records
Feature6 records
Al Etihad Payments partnerships and signals
Strategic signalPartnerships
Ten partnerships are on record, tiered core, minor and flagship.
- MontrancoreAl Etihad Payments selected Montran to implement an International Remittance Platform Gateway for cross-border instant payments connectivity. The platform consolidates multiple bilateral protocols into a single standard supporting ISO 20022, real-time message transformation, and open API interoperability. Initial rollout integrates with India's Unified Payments Interface.
- Abu Dhabi Islamic Bank (ADIB)minorAl Etihad Payments participated as a judging panel representative in ADIB's UAE Cybersecurity Innovation Challenge organized in partnership with UAE Cyber Security Council and DIFC Innovation Hub.
- Al Ansari ExchangecoreAl Ansari Exchange completed integration with Al Etihad Payments and Central Bank of UAE for WPS-compliant salary disbursement services, allowing employers to retrieve employee information from MOHRE systems and initiate instant salary payments.
- National Bank of Fujairah (NBF)coreNBF developed NBF Qollect, a QR code-based payments solution in partnership with Pine Labs and Al Etihad Payments, enabling merchants to accept digital payments through the national payment infrastructure.
- Etihad AirwaysflagshipEtihad Airways partnered with Al Etihad Payments to offer exclusive benefits to Jaywan Royal cardholders, including discounts and priority services. The partnership aims to enhance travel experiences and support UAE's strategic growth initiatives.
- DiscoverflagshipCo-badging agreement enabling Jaywan cards to be accepted on Discover's global payment network alongside Jaywan domestic acceptance.
- MastercardflagshipCo-badging agreement enabling Jaywan cards to be accepted globally through Mastercard's extensive payment network alongside domestic Jaywan acceptance.
- UnionPayflagshipCo-badging agreement enabling Jaywan cards to leverage UnionPay's global acceptance network alongside Jaywan domestic scheme.
- VisaflagshipCo-badging agreement enabling Jaywan cards to be accepted worldwide through Visa's payment network alongside domestic Jaywan processing.
- Core42coreAl Etihad Payments partnered with Core42 to implement Open Finance under the Financial Infrastructure Transformation Programme, enabling broader financial data sharing and interoperability.
Scale indicators7 records
Recent moves6 records
Expansion highlights5 records
Al Etihad Payments competitors and assessment
Company assessmentDirect peers
- Saudi Payments (Mada): Operator of Saudi Arabia's national payment schemes (Mada domestic card scheme, Mada Pay, SADAD account-to-account bill payments). The closest regional analog — another GCC central-bank subsidiary running a domestic card scheme plus an instant A2A rail, often cited alongside AEP in regional payments coverage.
- Federal Reserve — FedNow: US Federal Reserve's instant payment service for depository institutions, enabling real-time A2A transfers 24/7. Closest Western analog to Aani as a central-bank-operated real-time gross settlement service targeting retail and small-value payments.
- Buna (Arab Monetary Fund): Cross-border payment platform owned by the Arab Monetary Fund connecting Arab central banks and commercial banks for instant cross-border transfers in local currencies. Directly comparable to AEP's IRP Gateway ambition and of strategic relevance given AEP's stated interest in GCC and Arab regional connectivity.
- National Payments Corporation of India (NPCI): Umbrella organization for India's retail payments (UPI, RuPay, IMPS), operating the world's largest instant payment network. Directly comparable as a state-backed national payment infrastructure operator running instant payments (UPI), domestic card schemes (RuPay), and ATM switching — exactly the multi-product model AEP replicates for the UAE.
- Network for Electronic Transfers (NETS) Singapore: Singapore's national payments network operator running EFTPOS, ATM switching, and digital payment services. Comparable as a long-established national infrastructure operator providing unified retail payment rails across multiple product lines — a more mature regional counterpart to AEP's multi-platform model.
- Banco Central do Brasil — Pix: Central-bank-operated instant payment system launched in 2020 that rapidly scaled to dominate Brazilian retail payments. Functionally identical to Aani as a real-time A2A instant payment platform operated by a monetary authority with nationwide 24/7 transfers.
- PayNet (Payments Network Malaysia): Malaysia's national payments network operator, jointly owned by Bank Negara Malaysia and 11 Malaysian banks, running the country's shared ATM and instant payment infrastructure (DuitNow). Closely mirrors AEP's B2B model of serving licensed financial institutions via shared national rails.
Broad incumbents
- Mastercard: Global card network and Jaywan co-badging partner. Same dual relationship as Visa — both competitor for domestic share and enabler for international acceptance of Jaywan cards.
- Visa: Global card network and a Jaywan co-badging partner. Comparable as the incumbent international card scheme that Jaywan is partially substituting at the domestic level and partially relying on for cross-border acceptance.
Emerging players
- mBridge Project: Multi-CBDC cross-border platform co-developed by the BIS Innovation Hub, the Central Bank of the UAE, and partner central banks. Directly comparable as the cross-border CBDC initiative AEP is participating in, representing an emerging alternative to SWIFT-based correspondent banking.
Market position
Strengths4 records
Weaknesses4 records
Competitive moat5 records
Key risks6 records
Key highlights7 records
Customer concentration
Al Etihad Payments social profiles
Digital presenceAl Etihad Payments financial estimates
Financial estimateRevenue estimate
Valuation estimate
Al Etihad Payments leadership team
Management profileNumber of profiles
Al Etihad Payments funding detail
Funding detailFunding overview
Funding rounds
Investors
Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Al Etihad Payments M&A and investment
M&A and investmentM&A
Investments
M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Frequently asked questions about Al Etihad Payments
What does Al Etihad Payments do?
Al Etihad Payments operates as the national payment infrastructure operator for the UAE, providing instant payments (Aani), a domestic card scheme (Jaywan), ATM network switching (UAESWITCH), and a wage protection system (UAEWPS). The company enables licensed financial institutions to integrate with these platforms via APIs for real-time fund transfers, card processing, and cross-border connectivity, supported by ISO 20022 standards and open API interoperability.
Is Al Etihad Payments a public or private company?
Al Etihad Payments is a private company. It is classified as state government owned and is currently operating.
When was Al Etihad Payments founded?
Al Etihad Payments was founded in 2023. It employs 501 to 1,000 people.
Where is Al Etihad Payments based?
Al Etihad Payments is headquartered in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates, in the Middle East region.
How does Al Etihad Payments make money?
Three revenue lines are on record. Payment Infrastructure Services are the primary driver. The others are card Scheme Operations and cross-Border Payment Services.
Who are Al Etihad Payments's main competitors?
Direct peers on record are Saudi Payments (Mada), Federal Reserve — FedNow, Buna (Arab Monetary Fund), National Payments Corporation of India (NPCI), Network for Electronic Transfers (NETS) Singapore, Banco Central do Brasil — Pix and PayNet (Payments Network Malaysia). Broad incumbents are Mastercard and Visa. mBridge Project is listed as an emerging player.
Does Al Etihad Payments have an API?
No public API is recorded for Al Etihad Payments.
What industry is Al Etihad Payments in?
Al Etihad Payments's product category is Payment Infrastructure. Its primary akta.pro industry code is FSAMAFAF, A2A Checkout & Merchant Acceptance Solutions, with a secondary code of FSAMAKAM, Instant Payouts & Earned Wage Access (EWA). Its NAICS code is 522320 and its SIC code is 6199.