UAE retailers trial dirham-pegged Stablecoin payments

Shoppers at two major retail outlets in the UAE can now pay using dirham-pegged stablecoin as part of a pilot.

Marks & Spencer branch in Dubai's Festival City Mall and Lulu Hypermarket at Khalidiyah Mall Abu Dhabi will accept payment in central bank-licensed stablecoin for the first time. 

The pilot is being run in partnership with fintech firm Network International and marks an important step in bringing regulated stablecoin payments into everyday retail.

Following the completion of testing, Network plans to scale DDSC stablecoin acceptance across its UAE merchant network.

How it works

Paying with DDSC stablecoin mirrors the QR-model of payment. At checkout, the POS device displays a QR code for the customer to scan using a DDSC supported wallet. Once the payment is confirmed, the merchant receives a notification through Network’s existing acceptance infrastructure, with settlement available either in DDSC, paid directly into the merchant’s DDSC supported wallet, or in dirhams.

DDSC is developed through the collaboration between International Holding Company (IHC), First Abu Dhabi Bank (FAB) and Sirius International Holding, it is pegged 1:1 to the UAE dirham and settles on ADI Chain.

"Through DDSC, we look forward to reducing the cost and complexity of money movement for our merchants, while providing them with more ways to accept and settle payments. This is another important step towards building the next generation of payment infrastructure in the UAE and the broader MEA region," said Murat Cagri Suzer, Group CEO of Network International.