Dubai Duty Free lets UAE residents pay with crypto at DXB and online

Eligible UAE residents can scan, pay and complete purchases through Crypto.com Pay

Last updated: August 05, 2026 | 12:52

2 MIN READ

Supplied

Dubai: Eligible UAE residents can now use Crypto.com Pay when shopping at Dubai Duty Free stores at Dubai International Airport and Al Maktoum International Airport, as well as through its website.

Sign up for our daily business newsletter, Cheques & Balances.

Dubai Duty Free has become the first airport retailer in the Middle East to introduce the regulated digital payment option, giving eligible customers another way to complete purchases in stores and online.

Get updated faster and for FREE: Download the Gulf News app now - simply click here.

Payments are authorised through the customer’s Crypto.com account, while Dubai Duty Free receives the transaction amount in UAE dirhams through Crypto.com’s regulated payment infrastructure.

How customers can pay in stores

Customers selecting Crypto.com Pay at a Dubai Duty Free checkout will receive a unique QR code linked to the purchase amount in dirhams.

The customer can scan the code using the Crypto.com App and approve the payment directly from their wallet. Once authorised, the transaction is confirmed through Dubai Duty Free’s existing point-of-sale system.

Customers using a mobile device for online purchases will be redirected to the Crypto.com App to review and approve the transaction before returning to Dubai Duty Free to complete the order.

Desktop shoppers can select Crypto.com Pay during checkout, scan the generated QR code through the app and confirm the payment from their wallet.

Payment option limited to eligible UAE residents

The service is available exclusively to eligible UAE residents through Crypto.com’s regulated payment platform.

The launch follows a memorandum of understanding signed by Dubai Duty Free and Crypto.com in July 2025 to explore blockchain-enabled payments and other digital initiatives across the retailer’s operations.

Crypto.com processes each transaction through its regulated payment system, with Dubai Duty Free receiving immediate settlement in UAE dirhams.

Crypto.com is the first Virtual Asset Service Provider in the UAE to receive a Stored Value Facilities licence from the Central Bank of the UAE, allowing it to provide regulated payment services under the conditions of the licence.

Crypto.com Pay joins payment options already available through Dubai Duty Free, including Apple Pay, Alipay and TerraPay.

Nivetha Dayanand

Nivetha Dayanand is Assistant Business Editor at Gulf News, covering aviation, financial markets and commodities. A business and financial journalist with a strong interest in multimedia storytelling, she regularly takes complex financial and economic subjects beyond the written word, producing explainer videos that make them easier for a wider audience to understand. Nivetha has interviewed senior policymakers, business leaders and global financial figures both on and off camera. Her past guests include UAE Minister of Economy and Tourism Abdulla bin Touq Al Marri, Khaled bin Alwaleed Al Saud, a member of the House of Saud and the founder and CEO of KBW Ventures, Jihad Azour, Director of the Middle East and Central Asia Department at the International Monetary Fund and Indian ministers Hardeep Singh Puri and N. Chandrababu Naidu. She has also hosted and moderated panels, conferences and awards shows, bringing her newsroom experience to live conversations on business, finance and the economy. An Erasmus Mundus journalism alum, Nivetha is drawn to stories that affect people directly and to reporting that gives a platform to voices that might otherwise go unheard. She was among the first journalists to speak to Petrofac employees in the UAE about unpaid salaries, broke the news of the planned demolition of Dubai’s well-known “Toyota Building”, and helped set the record straight on widely circulated claims that a giant replica of the Moon was coming to Dubai. More recently, her exclusive interview with EDGE Group CEO Hamad Al Marar revealed how the UAE-based defence group deployed its systems along the country’s shore border and established a geofence around the UAE within 48 hours of the February 28 escalation. Prior to joining Gulf News, Nivetha worked at ITP Media, where she helped launch Finance Middle East, a new publication covering the region’s financial sector. Her role spanned reporting and editing, video production, interviews and events. Across print, digital, and video, she focuses on finding the people behind business stories and explaining why those stories matter to the audience reading or watching them.

Get the latest news and updates straight to your inbox

Network Links

GN Store

About Gulf News Terms & Conditions Reach by GN Sitemap Contact us Privacy Policy GN Focus Have your say Work with us Advertise with us Gulf News epaper Printing Services

Download our app