Emirates has officially begun accepting cryptocurrency payments for flight bookings through a new partnership with Crypto.com, allowing customers to pay for tickets using digital assets on the airline’s website and mobile app.

Passengers will need a Crypto.com account to use the service. While customers pay with cryptocurrency, transactions are priced and settled in UAE dirhams.

The rollout follows a memorandum of understanding signed between Emirates and Crypto.com in July 2025.

How to pay with crypto

Customers booking on emirates.com or the Emirates app will see Crypto.com Pay as a payment option at checkout.

• On mobile: Customers are redirected to the Crypto.com app to approve the payment before returning to Emirates to receive their booking confirmation and e-ticket.
• On desktop: Customers scan a QR code displayed during checkout using the Crypto.com app, approve the payment, and then receive their booking confirmation and e-ticket.

Why crypto payments

Adnan Kazim, Emirates’ Deputy President and Chief Commercial Officer, said the move reflects the changing preferences of a younger, digitally savvy generation that increasingly manages both finances and travel through mobile devices.

The payment system is powered by Crypto.com’s Dubai entity, which became the first Virtual Asset Service Provider (VASP) to receive a Stored Value Facilities (SVF) licence from the UAE Central Bank.

The launch also supports the Dubai Cashless Strategy under the D33 Economic Agenda, which aims for 90% of financial transactions across the public and private sectors to be digital by the end of 2026.