UAE Becomes First Market Outside the US to Launch Mastercard’s Agentic Pay

The launch marks an important moment in both global payments innovation and the UAE's drive to be at the forefront of real-world AI adoption. The announcement was detailed in Mastercard's official press release, which explains how the pilot starts with an AI-driven experience where customers book VOX Cinemas tickets via automated digital agents.

Agent Pay introduces a model whereby consumers can delegate search, selection, purchase, and payment confirmation to an AI agent capable of acting autonomously within predefined user preferences. Instead of manually browsing listings or navigating checkout screens, the user can instruct an AI system to find an appropriate product or service and complete the transaction on their behalf. In the UAE deployment, the first use-case is cinema bookings at VOX Cinemas, where an AI agent can surface showtimes, seat availability, pricing, and booking options before executing the purchase.

According to Mastercard, the system allows customers to "browse, compare and purchase through AI-powered digital agents," reflecting a shift whereby discovery and payment become a single automated step.

The company Dataiera is providing the technical integration that will support these intelligent transactions, making sure requests initiated by agents can interface with merchant systems, inventory, customer preferences and secure payment credentials. Although the pilot is beginning with cinema bookings, the infrastructure is designed to be flexible enough for expansion across multiple retail categories within Majid Al Futtaim's ecosystem and potentially beyond. For consumers, the vision is that in time, agent-driven payments could extend into daily retail purchases, travel planning, grocery shopping, entertainment bookings and similar workflows.

At the launch event, His Excellency Omar Sultan Al Olama, Minister of State for Artificial Intelligence, Digital Economy, and Remote Work Applications, stressed the importance of the initiative, asserting that the UAE “has become a global hub and destination for adopting and supporting advanced technologies.” His comments framed Agent Pay not just as a commercial pilot but as a symbolic example of how the UAE wants to lead in AI-enabled consumer services. Mastercard’s regional leadership drove the same message home.

Dimitrios Dosis, President for Eastern Europe, Middle East and Africa at Mastercard, said the future of agentic commerce had to be based on transparency, consent and security while describing the system as a means to let consumers and businesses “engage confidently in this new era of commerce.”

Ahmed Galal Ismail, Chief Executive Officer of Majid Al Futtaim Holding, said the collaboration reflects the company’s commitment to advancing the next generation of digital commerce. He stated, “As a pioneer in retail and lifestyle innovation, Majid Al Futtaim sees AI as a transformative force shaping the future of commerce and human interaction. Collaborating with Mastercard on Agent Pay allows us to explore how intelligence and integrity can coexist in digital transactions – creating systems that prioritize trust, transparency, and consumer confidence. This collaboration is not just about convenience; it’s about setting a framework for responsible innovation that redefines how people shop, pay, and engage in a connected world.”

Mastercard also connected the launch to prior investments it had made in AI and cyber-resilience. In 2023, the company created the Center for Advanced AI and Cyber Technology in Dubai, co-developed with the UAE's Office for Artificial Intelligence. This context makes clear that the rollout of Agent Pay represents part of a longer-term strategy to match innovation in payments against secure digital infrastructure. It also demonstrates how the UAE has emerged as a testbed for advanced deployments of AI given its public-sector support, high digital penetration, and political will to pilot emerging technologies at scale.

The model offers a number of potential benefits. One is simply convenience-many consumers book services or make purchases repeatedly. Handing such tasks over to an AI agent could eliminate many of the small steps involved in browsing and checkout, creating a more seamless user experience. Another potential benefit is personalization. As users interact more with agentic systems, the AI can learn such preferences as preferred seating at a cinema, budget ranges or favorite genres, potentially increasing satisfaction and efficiency. On a broader scale, Mastercard sees agent-driven transactions as part of a digital economy shift in which AI becomes an active participant in the commercial workflow, not just an advisory tool.

As this new model rolls out, there are a few things people will naturally pay attention to. Building comfort and trust will take a little time, simply because many consumers are still getting used to the idea of an AI helping with purchases. Mastercard has designed Agent Pay around clear consent and transparency, and confidence is likely to grow as users see how the system behaves in real situations. Making sure the AI understands what people want will also be important so the experience feels smooth and intuitive. Privacy, authentication and fraud safeguards remain essential, especially as automated systems begin handling sensitive payment steps. And on the merchant side, adoption will progress as businesses update their systems to support this new kind of AI-initiated interaction.

The UAE launch also reflects a larger global trend for "agentic commerce," wherein AI systems are programmed with the ability not only to recommend but also to act. While the practical implementation remains young, the partnership of Mastercard with Majid Al Futtaim presents an early, concrete example of how such systems could work in the real world. Countries with high rates of digital adoption, such as the UAE, may be among the first markets where this behavior becomes normalized. If successful, these systems stand to reshape consumer interactions in categories where convenience and speed drive purchasing habits.

Over the next few months, a variety of indicators will be closely watched by analysts and other industry observers. Adoption levels will show whether users are comfortable letting AI complete real transactions. Merchant participation will indicate whether this model can scale beyond a limited set of use-cases. Consumer satisfaction and dispute rates will offer insight into how reliably AI agents interpret user intent. Regulators may also begin evaluating how frameworks for consumer protection, data privacy, and fraud oversight must evolve to accommodate automated payment flows.

In the coming months, a variety of indicators will be closely watched by analysts and other industry observers. Adoption rates will give a sense of how comfortable users feel letting an AI help with their purchases. The level of merchant involvement will show how quickly the model can expand into different types of services. Feedback from customers, including how often they’re satisfied or need support, will help indicate how well the AI understands what people are asking for.