Just one month after the UAE officially launched its national card scheme, Jaywan is already moving beyond its rollout phase and into everyday transactions, with acceptance spanning airlines, retail and leisure destinations, government payments, physical stores and thousands of online merchants.

The UAE’s first national card scheme was inaugurated on July 20, 2026, by His Highness Sheikh Mansour bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Vice President, Deputy Prime Minister, Chairman of the Presidential Court and Chairman of the Central Bank of the UAE (CBUAE).

The launch marked the official commencement of nationwide Jaywan card issuance by banks, licensed financial institutions (LFIs) and exchange houses, with cards being rolled out to consumers in phases.

The announcement came during Sheikh Mansour’s reception of Khaled Mohamed Balama, Governor of the CBUAE, alongside members of the Board of Directors of Al Etihad Payments and chief executives from banks, LFIs and local and international payment companies, according to the UAE’s official news agency, WAM.

Jaywan is operated by Al Etihad Payments, a subsidiary of the CBUAE, and has been designed as the UAE’s national domestic card payment scheme while remaining connected to global payment networks.

Read more-10 Jaywan Card benefits that can save UAE residents money on flights, hotels and movies

The scheme’s first month has seen its acceptance footprint widen quickly.

The latest major development came on August 19, when Etihad Airways became the first airline to accept Jaywan for flight bookings. Majid Al Futtaim has enabled the card across more than 200 destinations in the UAE, while payment infrastructure providers including Network International, Magnati, noon payments and Telr have extended acceptance across their merchant networks.

The Ministry of Finance has also brought Jaywan into government transactions by adopting it for federal service fees and fines.

So, where can UAE consumers actually use Jaywan today?

Etihad brings Jaywan to flight bookings

Etihad Airways delivered one of the biggest acceptance milestones for Jaywan on August 19, when it enabled the national card as a payment option on its website.

UAE-based customers can now select Jaywan at checkout and use the card to book Etihad flights directly through etihad.com. The option is available across the airline’s full route network, making the carrier the first airline to accept Jaywan for flight bookings.

The development gives Jaywan a significant consumer use case barely a month after its official launch. Rather than being confined to everyday, lower-value purchases, the card can now be used to complete a major travel transaction, including international flights.

Mark Potter, MD of Etihad Guest at Etihad Airways, described the move as a significant moment for the airline and its partnership with Al Etihad Payments.

“Being the first airline to accept Jaywan payments is a proud moment,” Potter said, adding that the move was intended to provide UAE customers with greater choice and convenience.

The partnership is also expected to offer additional benefits to Jaywan Royal cardholders. Etihad said eligible Etihad Guest members using Jaywan Royal cards will receive exclusive discounts on Comfort and Deluxe fares, as well as priority-related benefits, with those features to be introduced soon.

Andrea Cianchetti, chief products officer at Al Etihad Payments, said the Etihad partnership adds direct value to Jaywan cardholders by combining everyday payment utility with benefits for customers in the UAE.

The development builds on an agreement between Etihad and Al Etihad Payments signed in October 2025.

More than 200 Majid Al Futtaim destinations now accept Jaywan

While Etihad gives Jaywan a high-profile presence in aviation, Majid Al Futtaim provides one of the scheme’s biggest physical acceptance footprints.

The company confirmed in July that Jaywan had been enabled across more than 200 destinations in the UAE, covering its retail, leisure, hotel and entertainment businesses.

The rollout was enabled through Majid Al Futtaim’s acquiring partnership with Network International, allowing customers to use Jaywan at its physical locations.

The significance of the rollout is its breadth. Jaywan is not being introduced into just one retail chain or one category of spending. The card is being made available across a portfolio covering shopping, entertainment, leisure and hospitality.

Majid Al Futtaim has also indicated that online acceptance across its digital platforms would follow the physical rollout.

Darren Taylor, SVP, SHARE Rewards & Customer Solutions at Majid Al Futtaim, said the move gives customers greater payment choice while maintaining a seamless payment experience across the group’s destinations.

For Jaywan cardholders, the group’s more than 200 locations represent one of the clearest examples of the national card moving into everyday spending.

flydubai adds Jaywan at Dubai International Airport

Jaywan has also entered the aviation sector through flydubai, although the airline’s acceptance model differs from Etihad’s.

Network International and flydubai announced a collaboration to enhance passenger payments at Dubai International Airport (DXB), with Network integrating its Push to Pay solution into POS terminals used at flydubai’s airport service touchpoints.

The announcement specifically included expanded acceptance for Jaywan.

The distinction matters.

Etihad now accepts Jaywan directly for flight bookings on its website across its route network. flydubai’s confirmed acceptance, meanwhile, applies to supported transactions at its airport service payment touchpoints at DXB.

Taken together, the two developments show Jaywan appearing at different stages of the air-travel journey — from airport services to the purchase of flights.

Network International is opening the door to tens of thousands of merchants

Perhaps the most important answer to the question of where Jaywan is accepted is not a single retailer or airline.

It is Network International.

The payment company was among the first acquirers in the UAE to enable Jaywan acceptance across its merchant network.

The company said its UAE network included more than 60,000 merchants, spanning sectors such as retail, hospitality, electronics, jewellery and hypermarkets.

Network later confirmed that Jaywan cards issued through Emirates NBD would be accepted at its merchant terminals and e-payment gateways, providing access to more than 60,000 merchant partners in the UAE.

This infrastructure is crucial to understanding Jaywan’s actual reach.

A consumer may walk into a shop that has never publicly announced that it accepts Jaywan and still be able to use the card because the retailer’s payment terminal has been enabled by its acquiring provider.

In other words, the number of businesses that publicly mention Jaywan is not necessarily the same as the number of businesses capable of processing it.

Thousands of online merchants are now part of the network

Network International has also taken Jaywan into e-commerce.

On July 20, the company announced that it had integrated Jaywan into its e-commerce payment gateway, allowing customers to use their cards across thousands of Network’s online merchants in the UAE.

The company said the integration enables secure and seamless online transactions and that merchants would not face additional fees for Jaywan transactions processed through the gateway.

The online expansion is particularly important because it means Jaywan’s acceptance is not dependent on physical retail terminals.

For consumers, the practical result is a much larger potential digital footprint: an online merchant using Network’s enabled gateway can offer Jaywan without having to build a separate direct connection to the domestic card scheme.

That also makes it harder to produce a definitive list of every business accepting Jaywan. The payment infrastructure may be operating behind the scenes.

Magnati adds another major physical merchant network

Magnati is another important part of the acceptance infrastructure.

The payment solutions provider announced that it had partnered with Al Etihad Payments to enable Jaywan across payment terminals supplied to its merchants.

The company confirmed that Jaywan cards could be used for transactions through Magnati payment terminals.

That means merchants using compatible Magnati infrastructure can form part of the Jaywan acceptance network without necessarily issuing individual public announcements.

Al Etihad Payments has also highlighted Network International and Magnati as leading regional acquirers that have enabled Jaywan across their merchant networks.

For consumers, the message is straightforward: Jaywan’s physical footprint extends beyond the large companies that have publicly promoted the card.

ADIB merchants can process Jaywan on POS terminals

Abu Dhabi Islamic Bank provides another confirmed route for Jaywan transactions.

ADIB’s Merchant Services information explicitly states that the bank accepts Jaywan cards on its POS terminals.

The development again highlights the role of acquiring infrastructure in the scheme’s expansion.

Businesses using compatible ADIB merchant POS infrastructure can process Jaywan payments, meaning acceptance can be present at the point of sale even when the individual merchant has not separately publicised its participation.

This bank-led approach could become increasingly important as Jaywan expands, because consumers are likely to encounter the national card across a growing number of terminals operated by different acquiring institutions.

noon payments brings Jaywan to online businesses

Jaywan’s digital reach is also being expanded through noon payments.

The company announced in May that it had enabled Jaywan across its merchant network in the UAE.

Merchants using noon payments can accept Jaywan cards through the platform, creating another route into the country’s e-commerce economy.

noon payments provides services including online checkout, payment links, marketplace payments and in-store payment solutions.

For merchants, gateway-level integration can make the adoption of a new payment scheme significantly easier. Rather than establishing a separate integration themselves, businesses can access Jaywan through their existing payment provider.

For consumers, that means an online business using enabled noon payments infrastructure may offer Jaywan as one of its available payment options.

Telr expands online acceptance

Another UAE payment gateway, Telr, has also enabled Jaywan across its merchant network.

The company said merchants using its platform could accept Jaywan cards through supported online checkout environments.

That adds another layer to the growing digital acceptance ecosystem and is particularly relevant to online businesses that rely on third-party payment gateways.

The significance is the same as with Network International and noon payments: a merchant does not necessarily need to establish a direct relationship with Jaywan to begin accepting the card.

Gateway-level integration can effectively distribute the payment method across a much wider merchant base.

The Ministry of Finance takes Jaywan into government payments

Jaywan’s acceptance is also moving beyond commercial transactions.

On August 3, the UAE Ministry of Finance announced that it had adopted Jaywan as a new payment channel for federal service fees and fines, alongside Aani.

The ministry became the first federal government entity to implement the initiative.

According to the ministry, the decision followed Cabinet Resolution No. 176M/4M of 2026 concerning adoption of the payment systems and applicable fees.

The move gives Jaywan another important use case: government payments.

The Ministry said the implementation would pave the way for the subsequent adoption and rollout of Jaywan and Aani by other federal entities and collection banks, in accordance with their approved procedures.

That suggests the government acceptance footprint could grow beyond the Ministry of Finance as more entities adopt the systems.

The Ministry has described the initiative as part of efforts to develop the government payments ecosystem and provide more flexible, convenient and faster payment options.

Where can you use Jaywan today?

One month after its official launch, the confirmed Jaywan acceptance map is already broad.

UAE customers can use the card to book Etihad Airways flights directly on etihad.com, make supported payments at flydubai airport service touchpoints at DXB, and transact across more than 200 Majid Al Futtaim destinations.

The card can also be used through enabled merchant infrastructure operated by Network International, Magnati and ADIB, while digital acceptance has expanded through Network International, noon payments and Telr.

The Ministry of Finance has added federal service fees and fines to the list of transactions that can be paid using Jaywan.

But the most important figure may be the one that is hardest for consumers to see.

Network International has described its acceptance network as covering more than 60,000 UAE merchant partners, while its e-commerce integration extends to thousands of online merchants.

That means Jaywan’s actual footprint is likely to be considerably larger than a simple list of major companies would suggest.

Jaywan’s first month shows how payment schemes really scale

The first month of Jaywan has demonstrated that the success of a national card scheme will depend less on how many brands put out individual announcements and more on how deeply the card becomes embedded in the country’s payment infrastructure.

Etihad has given Jaywan a high-profile role in aviation. Majid Al Futtaim has established a major physical retail and leisure footprint. Network International and Magnati provide acquiring scale, while noon payments and Telr expand the card’s online reach.

ADIB adds another merchant-acquiring channel, and the Ministry of Finance has taken Jaywan into government payments.

The result is a payment network that is beginning to cover the places where consumers actually spend money: travel, shopping, entertainment, hospitality, e-commerce and government services.

That matters because acceptance is ultimately what determines whether a payment card becomes part of everyday life.

A card can be issued to millions of customers, but if consumers repeatedly encounter merchants that do not accept it, adoption can remain limited. Conversely, when acceptance becomes widespread through payment terminals and gateways, the card can become a routine choice without every merchant having to market it separately.

That appears to be the direction Jaywan is now taking.

One month after its launch, the UAE’s national card is no longer simply a newly introduced payment scheme. It is becoming a payment option that consumers can encounter across airlines, major retail and leisure destinations, government services, physical merchant terminals and thousands of online businesses.

And the next phase could be less visible but potentially even more significant.

As acquiring banks and payment gateways continue to enable Jaywan across their networks, more businesses may begin accepting the card without making separate public announcements.

For consumers, that means the answer to “Where can I pay with Jaywan?” is already considerably broader than it was on launch day, and the acceptance map is still expanding.