Emirates to allow passengers to book using cryptocurrency

Emirates has officially launched crypto.com pay to allow passengers to book their flights using cryptocurrency.

Passengers will need a Crypto.com account to complete the booking on the airline's official website or app, with transactions priced and settled in Emirati Dirham (AED).

This follows an MoU signed between Crypto.com and Emirates in July 2025.

This "reflects the rapidly evolving preferences of a younger, digitally fluent generation who manage their money and plan their journeys primarily from their phones and they expect the airlines they fly with to keep pace,” highlighted Adnan Kazim, Emirates' Deputy President and Chief Commercial Officer.

The integration is powered by Crypto.com's Dubai entity, the first Virtual Asset Service Provider (VASP) to be granted a Stored Value Facilities (SVF) licence by the Central Bank of the UAE and operates within the scope of the SVF framework.

How it works

• When customers reach the payment step of their booking, Crypto.com Pay appears as a payment option at checkout on emirates.com and the Emirates App.
• On the mobile: Customers will be directed to the Crypto.com app to complete the payment from their wallet, before being redirected back to the App for their booking confirmation and e-ticket
• On the desktop: Customers should select Crypto.com Pay at the payment step, then scan the QR code displayed on the booking page and approve the payment in their Crypto.com app. Once the payment is approved, the booking confirmation and e-ticket will be issued.

This launch supports the Dubai Cashless Strategy under the D33 Economic Agenda, which aims to make 90 per cent of all financial transactions across government and private sectors digital by the end of 2026. It also builds on Emirates' partnership signed with Dubai Finance last year to advance digital payments and follows Crypto.com's partnership with Dubai Finance to accept digital payments for government services.