UAE launches first Jaywan-Mastercard co-badged credit card

By Milan Rojan

Al Etihad Payments (AEP), a wholly owned subsidiary of the Central Bank of the UAE (CBUAE), has partnered with Mastercard to launch the world’s first Jaywan-Mastercard co-badged credit card, expanding international acceptance of the UAE’s domestic card scheme while strengthening the country’s payment infrastructure.

H.E. Saif Humaid Al Dhaheri, Assistant Governor for Banking Operations and Support Services at the CBUAE and Chairman of Al Etihad Payments, said: “This collaboration represents a defining moment for the UAE’s payments ecosystem. By combining national infrastructure with global innovation, we are strengthening sovereignty, resilience and choice, while accelerating the UAE’s journey toward a future-ready financial system.”

The partnership was established to support the issuance of Jaywan co-badged credit cards, while advanced payment infrastructure was developed for the switching and processing of domestic and international card transactions. A new Mastercard operations centre was  established in the UAE, marking the first facility of its kind in the region and supporting advanced payment services for local and regional markets.

The collaboration has enabled Jaywan cardholders to access Mastercard’s global acceptance network while the UAE’s domestic payment ecosystem was  strengthened through enhanced processing capabilities.

Dr. Dimitrios Dosis, President, EEMEA, Mastercard, said: “We are bringing together trusted technology, global scale and deep local relationships to strengthen domestic resiliency while remaining deeply connected to the global economy.”

The partnership has supported Al Etihad Payments’ strategy of bringing together banks, FinTechs, merchants and technology providers to modernise the country’s payment infrastructure. Additional payment options have been introduced, while resilience, operational efficiency and payment innovation have been reinforced across the ecosystem.

As the partnership progresses, additional payment solutions were explored to support the UAE’s digital transformation and further strengthen its domestic payments ecosystem.