UAE Telecom Giant e& Launches Dirham Stablecoin Pilot - Consumer Payments Enter the Digital Age
Forget clunky bank transfers and card fees—a telecom titan is building its own digital money highway.
The UAE's e&, formerly Etisalat, just flipped the switch on a live pilot for a Dirham-pegged stablecoin. This isn't a vague whitepaper promise; it's a working test for real consumer payments. The move signals a massive shift: infrastructure giants aren't just watching the crypto revolution—they're laying the rails for it.
Why a Telco Wants to Be Your Bank
Think about it. Telecoms already handle millions of micro-transactions daily. They have the user base, the apps, and the regulatory relationships. Launching a stablecoin isn't a side project; it's a vertical integration play that could bypass traditional payment networks entirely. It turns every smartphone on their network into a potential digital wallet.
The Ripple Effect on Regional Finance
This pilot is a flare shot over the bows of regional banks. When a corporate behemoth with e&'s reach starts minting its own digital currency, it questions the very need for legacy intermediaries for everyday spending. It promises faster, cheaper settlements—a dream for merchants and a potential nightmare for fee-heavy incumbents.
Stablecoins: The Gateway Drug for Mass Adoption
Let's be real. The average person isn't buying volatile crypto for groceries. They want digital cash that doesn't swing 10% before checkout. A trusted, Dirham-backed token solves that. It's the perfect on-ramp, normalizing blockchain-based payments long before users ever hear the word 'DeFi'. This is how crypto sheds its speculative skin and becomes utilitarian.
One cynical take? This is also a brilliant hedge. While bankers debate digital currency frameworks, e& is building the toll road. They'll profit from the transaction flow regardless of which digital asset eventually wins—a classic case of selling the picks and shovels during a gold rush.
The pilot may be small today, but its implications are enormous. When telecoms become payment processors, the financial landscape doesn't just change—it gets a full system reboot.
e& Tests AE Coin Stablecoin for Bill Payments and Digital Services
The trial centers on AE Coin, a fully backed stablecoin licensed by the Central Bank of the UAE.
Under the agreement, e& will evaluate how the token can be woven into its payment systems, potentially allowing customers to pay mobile and home-service bills, recharge prepaid lines, manage postpaid accounts, and interact with its digital platforms using a blockchain-based settlement method.
Executives on both sides framed the partnership as part of the UAE’s broader ambition to push regulated digital finance into mainstream use.
e& Group CEO Hatem Dowidar said the stablecoin offers “instant settlement, complete transparency, and frictionless access,” highlighting its appeal as a next-generation payment rail.
Al Maryah Community Bank CEO Mohammed Wassim Khayata added that the pilot opens the door to expanding “real-world applications” for licensed VIRTUAL assets.
Although e& signaled interest in eventually linking the token to e-commerce channels, the initiative remains firmly in the exploratory stage.
UAE digital payments MOVE ~$18B/yr through slow, expensive banking rails.
The dirham stablecoin issued by FAB & IHC under Central Bank oversight running on ADI’s infrastructure replaces those rails with instant, low-cost settlement.
If ADI processes even a fraction of that… https://t.co/opYVP8titx
An MoU indicates intent rather than deployment, meaning timelines, rollout scope, and consumer impact are still undefined. For now, the trial will focus on internal infrastructure testing rather than a public launch.
Ramez Rafeek, general manager of AED Stablecoin, the firm behind AE Coin, described the collaboration as a milestone for regulated digital payments, positioning the stablecoin as a potential backbone for essential services.
The company was among the first to receive in-principle approval under the UAE’s Payment Token Service Regulation framework, putting it ahead in the region’s increasingly competitive stablecoin race.
The UAE has been actively advancing its regulatory approach to virtual assets as it seeks to build out a compliant digital finance ecosystem.
Tether, Binance Secure Regulatory Approval in ADGM
As reported, Tether’s USDT stablecoin has also secured regulatory recognition as an approved fiat-referenced token across a wide range of blockchains inside the ADGM.
Tether said ADGM now permits licensed institutions in the financial free zone to conduct regulated activities involving USDT across Aptos, Celo, Cosmos, Kaia, Near, Polkadot, Tezos, TON and TRON.
These approvals expand on earlier recognition for USDT on Ethereum, solana and Avalanche.
On Monday, Binance disclosed that it has also secured full authorization to operate its flagship Binance.com platform under ADGM oversight, a milestone that comes after years of regulatory scrutiny.
Binance will operate through three distinct legal entities in the zone, an exchange, a clearing house and a broker-dealer, reflecting a traditional financial-market structure designed to enable regulated trading, custody, settlement and off-exchange services.
