Emirates and flydubai join ‘Dubai Cashless strategy’ initiative

Emirates and flydubai have signed two Memoranda of Understanding (MoUs) with Dubai Finance (DOF) to advance digital payment initiatives and promote ‘Dubai Cashless Strategy’ among international tourists. Launched last year, the Dubai Cashless Strategy aims to achieve 90% cashless transactions across government and private sectors combined by end of 2026.

With over 18.7 million tourists visiting Dubai in 2024, cash-reliant travellers represent the emirate's greatest untapped potential for digital payment adoption.

Two separate MoUs were signed by Adnan Kazim, Emirates’ Deputy President and Chief Commercial Officer and Hamad Obaidalla, flydubai’s Chief Commercial Officer with Ahmad Ali Meftah, Executive Director of the Central Accounts Sector at DOF, in the presence of His Sheikh Ahmed bin Saeed Al Maktoum, Chairman and Chief Executive, Emirates Airline and Group, Abdulrahman Saleh Al Saleh, Director General of DOF.

Emirates and flydubai signed two MoUs with Dubai Finance (DOF) to advance digital payment initiatives and promote ‘Dubai Cashless Strategy’ among international tourists. Representative of the organisations posed for a group photo during the signing event.

The MoUs aim to enhance collaboration across several areas, including exchanging expertise, technical know-how and best practices for cashless solutions within the travel and tourism ecosystem. All sides will explore opportunities to run workshops and training sessions and will evaluate payment adoption trends that support strategic planning efforts.

The collaborations will target tourists and travellers planning their stay in Dubai by developing initiatives that improve and make the digital payment experience more inclusive for visitors. The carriers and DOF will explore joint marketing campaigns to uplift visitor awareness, tap into opportunities for incentives that encourage digital payment adoption as well as offer diverse digital solutions for visitors like contactless payments.

Emirates now offers 14 payment gateways for its customers, and Skywards, the award-winning loyalty programme for both Emirates and flydubai, is already a 100% digital currency for earning and redeeming benefits.

The ‘Dubai Cashless Strategy’ initiative is projected to boost economic growth by more than AED 8 billion annually through innovative financial technology services. 

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