The UAE’s card payments market is set to grow by 10.6% in 2025 to AED565.5 billion ($154 billion), reflecting a clear shift towards electronic payments. Driven by rising consumer preference for digital transactions and strong government support for financial inclusion, this trend signals the country’s steady move towards a cashless economy amid broader digital transformation efforts, says GlobalData, a leading data and analytics company.
GlobalData’s report, “UAE Cards and Payments: Opportunities and Risks to 2028,” reveals that the card payment value in the UAE registered a growth of 13.3% in 2024 to reach AED511.4 billion ($139.3 billion). However, the current global uncertainty because of the latest US tariffs can pose a challenge for the UAE’s overall economic growth, resulting in slowdown of the overall card payments value in 2025.
Ravi Sharma, Lead Banking and Payments Analyst at GlobalData, comments: “While cash remains the most preferred mode of payment, the dynamic is gradually changing with the rise in card payments. Persistent efforts from the government as well as financial institutions to promote electronic payments via financial inclusion initiatives as well as developing and expanding payment acceptance infrastructure have encouraged consumers to use electronic payments for day-to-day transactions.”
A key factor contributing to the country’s rising banked population and rise in card penetration is the introduction of the “Wage Protection System,” mandating employers to pay wages electronically via banks and financial institutions authorized by the Central Bank of the UAE (CBUAE). This initiative aims to increase financial inclusion and boost demand for banking and payment products such as bank accounts and cards.
The UAE is taking several other initiatives to reduce the dependence on cash and promote electronic payments thereby benefiting card payments. In October 2024, the government launched the Dubai Cashless Strategy to achieve 90% cashless transactions in Dubai by 2026. This strategy intends to expand digital payment solutions across government and private sectors through the development of digital payment innovations, including AI and contactless technologies
The UAE is swiftly moving towards digitalization of payments. Various financial inclusion measures by the government and CBUAE such as the introduction of the Wage Protection System and Financial Infrastructure Transformation (FIT) Program are supporting the cashless infrastructure, which is seen in the expansion of POS terminals and developments in the card and mobile payments space.
Among POS, mobile POS terminals are emerging as an alternative payment acceptance solution, especially among SMEs (which account for most UAE businesses) due to being comparatively much cheaper than traditional POS terminals.
Sharma concludes: “The UAE payment card market is expected to continue its upward growth trajectory supported by government initiatives promoting electronic payments, rising consumer preference for digital payments, and improving payment infrastructure. The card payments value is expected to register a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 9.6% between 2025 to 2029 to reach AED 814.7 billion ($221.8 billion) in 2029.”
