Uae Telco Giant E& Taps Dirham Stablecoin For Bill Payments Pilot
The MoU marks a cautious step toward real-world stablecoin payments in the UAE, with e& assessing how AE Coin may integrate into its digital channels.
Update Dec. 11, 12:45 pm UTC: This article has been updated to add another section about e& money’s partnership with Crypto.com.
United Arab Emirates’ telecom giant e& is reportedly preparing to test whether regulated stablecoins can support mainstream consumer payments, having signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with Al Maryah Community Bank to explore the use of a dirham-pegged stablecoin across its digital channels.
According to a Gulf News report, executives framed the collaboration as part of the UAE’s push toward regulated digital finance. Hatem Dowidar, e& Group CEO, said the stablecoin enables “instant settlement, complete transparency, and frictionless access.”
Al Maryah Community Bank CEO Mohammed Wassim Khayata described the initiative as a step toward expanding the “real-world applications” of licensed virtual assets.
While the move signals growing interest in blockchain-based financial rails, the initiative remains an early-stage pilot, which puts it several stages away from real-world adoption at scale.
Under the agreement, e& will assess how AE Coin, a dirham-backed stablecoin licensed by the Central Bank of the UAE (CBUAE), can be embedded in the telecom giant’s payment infrastructure.
The trial would allow customers to use the token to pay mobile and home-service bills, top up prepaid lines, manage postpaid recharges and interact with e&'s digital platforms and smart service systems.
The company also said that it would consider integrating e-commerce touchpoints with the token in the future, positioning the stablecoin as a potential alternative payment method within one of the UAE’s most widely used consumer ecosystems.
Ramez Rafeek, general manager of AED Stablecoin, the company behind the dirham-pegged token, said the stablecoin was created to facilitate instant, transparent and regulated digital payments.
Source: CoinTelegraph
