UAE bank customers holding Jaywan cards will soon be able to use them at merchants in mainland China, under a pilot programme agreed between Al Etihad Payments and UnionPay International. The arrangement marks the first step toward wider global acceptance of the UAE's national card scheme.
Under the pilot, customers with mono-badged Jaywan cards will be able to pay at participating UnionPay merchants in China without needing an additional card or a co-badged version. This matters for UAE residents and travellers who currently rely on international schemes when abroad, since it opens a path for a domestic card to work overseas without extra paperwork or a second card.
Three agreements signed in Shanghai
The cooperation was formalised through three memorandums of understanding signed at a ceremony in Shanghai. One covers interoperability between the UAE's national QR-code payment system and UnionPay's network, another provides for international acceptance of Jaywan cards through UnionPay's global merchant base, and a third sets up settlement support through Bank of China's Abu Dhabi branch.
Dong Junfeng, chairman of China UnionPay and UnionPay International, and Saif Humaid Al Dhaheri, the Central Bank of the UAE's assistant governor for banking operations, signed the memorandum on QR-code cooperation and cross-border interoperability. Under this agreement, UnionPay will offer consulting and technical assistance covering payment specifications, security frameworks and merchant onboarding rules for the UAE's QR system.
A separate memorandum was signed between UnionPay and Al Etihad Payments specifically to enable international acceptance of Jaywan cards across UnionPay's network, while a third was signed between UnionPay International's Middle East branch and Bank of China's Abu Dhabi branch to handle settlement of cross-border card transactions.
Settlement and liquidity support
Alongside the pilot, the Central Bank of the UAE and Bank of China signed a further agreement so that transactions processed over UnionPay's rails can be settled smoothly. Bank of China's Abu Dhabi branch will supply settlement and liquidity services, including renminbi clearing and foreign-exchange conversion, to support Jaywan's move into international acceptance.
Senior financial officials from both countries witnessed the first successful transaction using a co-badged card in November 2025, an early demonstration of the interoperability the new agreements aim to scale up.
UnionPay's reach in the UAE and beyond
UnionPay first entered the UAE market in 2009 and has since built one of the world's largest payment networks. UnionPay International now works with more than 2,600 financial institutions across 183 countries and regions. Outside mainland China, its acceptance network covers more than 100 million merchants and 1.8 million ATMs, with cards issued in 85 countries and regions. Its mobile payment services, including Mobile QuickPass and QR-code payments, are accepted in more than 100 countries and regions.