Jaywan cardholders can pay outside UAE after Visa deal

Jaywan card users can clear payments using VisaNet platform in 200 countries

Last updated:
Manoj Nair, Business Editor
2 MIN READ
Jaywan cards are being issued by UAE banks to their account holders. These cards can offer both debit and pre-paid services.
Jaywan cards are being issued by UAE banks to their account holders. These cards can offer both debit and pre-paid services.
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Dubai: The UAE's Jaywan payment card scheme will soon introduce debit and pre-paid cards in alliance with Visa, the global payments processing platform.

This will cover more than 150 million merchant partners under the Visa network in 200 countries and territories while traveling abroad or shopping online.

Jaywan comes under Al Etihad Payments, which is a subsidiary of the UAE Central Bank. Local banks in the UAE are to issue Jaywan cards to their account holders, essentially fulfilling their needs for debit facilities.

Now, the Jaywan-Visa co-badging 'strengthens the continuous joint efforts to support the UAE authorities’ ambition of accelerating the transition towards a digital economy'.

Al Etihad Payments and Visa will work with local financial institutions, fintech and merchant partners to i'ssue co-badged cards carrying a set of benefits and value-added services that meet the market needs'.

"Under this agreement, domestic transactions will be processed through the national card switch - UAESWITCH - while cross border transactions outside the GCC area will be processed through Visa’s global network VisaNet," said a statement.

According to Saif Humaid Al Dhaheri, the UAE Central Bank’s Assistant Governor for Banking Operations and Support Services, said: "Jaywan is a key step toward strengthening the UAE’s financial infrastructure, offering a locally rooted payment solution that supports economic growth and digital transformation.

"Under this partnership, we are creating a seamless, secure, and efficient card payment ecosystem that aligns with the UAE’s vision for innovation and financial empowerment."

Al Dhaheri is also Chairman of Al Etihad Payments, which oversees the Jaywan platform. (It also oversees the 'Aani' platform, which is a peer-to-peer payment service for the UAE.)

From the outset, the intention was to allow Jaywan cardholders to use these to make domestic and outside of UAE payments. It will also facilitate payments for online purchases.

"With around 30% of payments still made with cash, we look forward to implementing this agreement (on Jaywan) and continuing our collaboration with industry partners to extend the benefits of digital payments to more consumers and businesses," said Dr. Saeeda Jaffar, Visa’s Senior Vice President and Group Country Manager for the GCC.

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