UAE telco giant e& taps dirham stablecoin for bill payments pilot

United Arab Emirates’ telecom giant e& is reportedly preparing to test whether regulated stablecoins can support mainstream consumer payments, having signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with Al Maryah Community Bank to explore the use of a dirham-pegged stablecoin across its digital channels

According to a Gulf News report, executives framed the collaboration as part of the UAE’s push toward regulated digital finance. e& Group CEO Hatem Dowidar said the stablecoin enables “instant settlement, complete transparency, and frictionless access.”

Al Maryah Community Bank CEO Mohammed Wassim Khayata described the initiative as a step toward expanding the “real-world applications” of licensed virtual assets.

While the move signals growing interest in blockchain-based financial rails, the initiative remains an early-stage pilot, which puts it several stages away from real-world adoption at scale

MoU signing at the Abu Dhabi Finance Week. Source: Gulf News## e& to test dirham-backed stablecoin in payments

Under the agreement, e& will assess how AE Coin, a dirham-backed stablecoin licensed by the Central Bank of the UAE (CBUAE), can be embedded in the telecom giant’s payment infrastructure

The trial would allow customers to use the token to pay mobile and home-service bills, top up prepaid lines, manage postpaid recharges and interact with e&'s digital platforms and smart service systems

The company also said that it would consider integrating e-commerce touchpoints with the token in the future, positioning the stablecoin as a potential alternative payment method within one of the UAE’s most widely used consumer ecosystems

Ramez Rafeek, the General Manager of AED Stablecoin, the company behind the dirham-pegged token, stated that the stablecoin was created to facilitate instant, transparent, and regulated digital payments.

He described the agreement as a milestone in the application of licensed stablecoins to essential consumer services

Related: Australian regulator eases rules for stablecoins and wrapped tokens

As Cointelegraph previously reported, AED Stablecoin was among the first companies to receive in-principle approval from the CBUAE under its Payment Token Service Regulation framework.

The preliminary approval made the company one of the frontrunners in the region’s stablecoin race

Despite the promising narrative, the initiative remains exploratory in nature. An MoU often signals intent and not execution. This means that timelines, rollout scope and measurable impact remain undefined

However, if the pilot succeeds, it could validate a model where regulated tokens quietly power routine financial activity behind the scenes

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