Emirates takes crypto to new altitudes as UAE residents book flights with Crypto.com Pay ✈️

Dubai-based carrier Emirates has rolled out Crypto.com Pay across its website and mobile app, allowing eligible United Arab Emirates residents to pay for flights using cryptocurrencies. The integration, announced Tuesday, was first disclosed as a partnership in July 2025 and gives the airline a regulated on-ramp for digital-asset customers without itself touching crypto on its balance sheet.

Under the flow, mobile users are routed to the Crypto.com app to authorize a payment from their wallet, while desktop users scan a QR code at checkout. Emirates settles in UAE dirhams rather than holding crypto, with Crypto.com handling the conversion under a Stored Value Facilities (SVF) license issued by the UAE central bank, which Crypto.com received earlier this year. The SVF license allows non-bank firms to hold customer funds or crypto in a digital wallet and process payments under central-bank oversight, and lets customers fund transactions in crypto while merchants receive dirhams or approved dirham-backed stablecoins.

Adnan Kazim, Emirates' deputy president and chief commercial officer, framed the move around shifting consumer habits. "This launch reflects the rapidly evolving preferences of a younger, digitally fluent generation who manage their money and plan their journeys primarily from their phones," Kazim said in the announcement. Neither Emirates nor Crypto.com indicated plans to expand the option beyond eligible UAE residents.

The launch arrives amid broader regional adoption of crypto checkout at travel counters. Air Arabia began accepting the dirham-backed AE Coin stablecoin for flight bookings in May 2025, and Bhutan has rolled out tourism crypto payments through Binance Pay and DK Bank. Separately, Cointelegraph reported in May that Crypto.com's SVF license could support integrations beyond the airline, including Dubai Duty Free.

According to CoinGecko, Crypto.com processed roughly $686 million in trading volume over the 24 hours up to the time of writing, underscoring the liquidity behind the rail Emirates is now plugging into. The airline said the integration went live on its site and app on Tuesday, with customer support for the new payment flow already in place.