Dubai is preparing to allow residents to pay for government services using cryptocurrency, signaling the emirate’s intent to support the Dubai Cashless Strategy.
On Monday, Dubai’s Department of Finance (DOF) signed a new memorandum of understanding (MoU) with global digital asset platform Crypto.com, in the presence of Abdulla Al Basti, Secretary General of The Executive Council of Dubai, and Abdulrahman Al Saleh, Director General of DOF.
The initiative, formalized during the Dubai FinTech Summit, will enable seamless and secure payments for government services using stable cryptocurrencies, further strengthening Dubai’s position as a global hub for financial innovation.
Al Basti said that adopting secure cryptocurrency solutions within the Government of Dubai’s payment system reflects a proactive approach to anticipating future needs and responding to global economic and financial developments.
“We take great pride in Dubai Finance’s pivotal role in driving the Dubai Cashless Strategy and shaping a distinctive digital financial future,” said Al Saleh.
The Dubai Cashless Strategy aims to conduct more than 90% of financial transactions across both the public and private sectors through cashless methods by 2026.
“We underscore the significance of the MoU with Crypto.com in accelerating the strategy’s objective,” Al Saleh said.
President and COO of Crypto.com Eric Anziani said this initiative will enable the delivery of the first comprehensive and holistic Government-wide implementation of payment digitization.
Once the necessary technical arrangements for the agreement’s activation are finalized, individuals and businesses customers of government entities will be able to pay service fees seamlessly through Crypto.com's digital wallets.
The platform will securely convert these payments into Emirati dirhams and transfer them to Dubai Finance accounts, ensuring a streamlined, secure, and innovative payment framework.
The Dubai Cashless Strategy is expected to drive economic growth by adding at least 8 billion dirhams ($2.1 billion) annually to the economy, fueled by the development of a wide range of innovative financial technology services and the accelerated expansion of Dubai’s fintech sector.
