Al Etihad Payments has signed an agreement with UnionPay International that is expected to make the UAE’s mono-badged Jaywan cards usable at more than 100 million points of sale and 1.8 million ATMs across over 183 countries and regions.
Al Etihad Payments, the operator of the UAE’s national payment switch and Jaywan domestic card scheme, has signed a memorandum of understanding with UnionPay International to expand the overseas acceptance of Jaywan mono-badged cards. The agreement would allow transactions made outside the UAE to be routed through UnionPay’s international network.
Once implemented across the network, Jaywan cardholders are expected to gain access to more than 100 million points of sale and 1.8 million ATMs in over 183 countries and regions.
The memorandum was signed at UnionPay International’s headquarters in Shanghai by Saif Humaid Al Dhaheri, chairman of Al Etihad Payments, and Dong Junfeng, chairman of China UnionPay and UnionPay International. A separate agreement will cover settlement, liquidity and foreign exchange services supporting transactions made through the arrangement.
Rollout Will Begin with a Pilot
UnionPay said acceptance of mono-badged Jaywan cards would begin with a pilot in mainland China before expanding to other international markets.
The agreement therefore establishes a route toward acceptance across UnionPay’s global infrastructure, rather than indicating that worldwide functionality has been activated simultaneously.
Under the planned transaction flow, UnionPay will route Jaywan purchases and withdrawals made outside the UAE to the UAE National Switch, which is operated by Al Etihad Payments. Settlement arrangements are expected to include liquidity and foreign exchange services, creating the financial and operational link needed to process transactions between the two systems.
Jaywan Card Types Support Different Uses
The new arrangement is notable because it covers mono-badged cards carrying only the Jaywan brand. Al Etihad Payments had previously described these cards as intended mainly for transactions in the UAE and Gulf Cooperation Council markets, while co-badged cards combine Jaywan with an international payment network for wider overseas use.
Al Etihad Payments and UnionPay already have an arrangement covering co-badged Jaywan–UnionPay cards issued by UAE financial institutions. Payments made inside the UAE using those cards are processed through Jaywan, while international transactions are handled through UnionPay’s network.
Jaywan forms part of the UAE’s effort to process more domestic card activity through local payment infrastructure. The Central Bank of the UAE announced the readiness of the scheme’s financial infrastructure in February 2025, describing Jaywan as the country’s first domestic card scheme. Al Etihad Payments is a subsidiary of the central bank and operates the scheme alongside the UAE National Switch.
The expansion also adds another layer to payment cooperation between the UAE and China. UnionPay’s July announcement covered several memorandums involving UnionPay International, the Central Bank of the UAE, Al Etihad Payments and Bank of China’s Abu Dhabi branch. The arrangements addressed card acceptance, payment-system interoperability and settlement support rather than constituting a single consumer card launch.
The agreement adds an international routing option for Jaywan’s mono-badged cards, extending the scheme beyond its original domestic and regional focus. Transactions made abroad will pass through UnionPay’s network before being routed to the UAE National Switch operated by Al Etihad Payments.
