Al Etihad Payments

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.

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

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

• National payment infrastructure
• Instant payments platform
• Domestic card scheme
• ATM network switching
• Wage protection system

Headquarters

HQ city

Abu Dhabi

HQ country

United Arab Emirates

HQ region

Middle East

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Technology or R&D, Personnel, Operations, Infrastructure

Revenue model

1. 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.
2. 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.
3. 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

Core 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

Named customers4 records

Segments3 records

Ideal customer profiles1 record

Technology focussed Yes

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Integration2 records

Feature6 records

Partnerships

Ten partnerships are on record, tiered core, minor and flagship.

• MontrancoreTechnology or Integration · 6 February 2026Al 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)minorStrategic or Co-development Partner · 23 January 2026Al 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 ExchangecoreTechnology or Integration · 18 December 2025Al 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)coreTechnology or Integration · 8 December 2025NBF 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 AirwaysflagshipGTM or Marketing Partner · 26 October 2025Etihad 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.
• DiscoverflagshipOEM/ Whitelabel/ Licensing Partner · 14 April 2025Co-badging agreement enabling Jaywan cards to be accepted on Discover's global payment network alongside Jaywan domestic acceptance.
• MastercardflagshipOEM/ Whitelabel/ Licensing Partner · 14 April 2025Co-badging agreement enabling Jaywan cards to be accepted globally through Mastercard's extensive payment network alongside domestic Jaywan acceptance.
• UnionPayflagshipOEM/ Whitelabel/ Licensing Partner · 14 April 2025Co-badging agreement enabling Jaywan cards to leverage UnionPay's global acceptance network alongside Jaywan domestic scheme.
• VisaflagshipOEM/ Whitelabel/ Licensing Partner · 14 April 2025Co-badging agreement enabling Jaywan cards to be accepted worldwide through Visa's payment network alongside domestic Jaywan processing.
• Core42coreTechnology or Integration · 1 March 2024Al 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

Direct 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

• Xx.com/aletihad_pay

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Al Etihad Payments