The UAE’s national instant payments platform Aani, operated by Al Etihad Payments — a subsidiary of the Central Bank of the UAE — has reported a sixfold year-on-year increase in transfer volumes, surpassing 12.5 million registered users and cementing its position as a core pillar of the country’s cash-light economy transition.
The platform’s connectivity network now spans 74 licensed financial institutions, with integration covering 85% of banks, 10% of exchange houses, and 5% of digital wallets and finance companies. Aani sustained an average monthly growth rate of 10% throughout 2025, with approximately 25,000 transfers executed daily using mobile numbers alone. Merchant adoption has reached approximately 774,000 businesses across the UAE, with account-to-account transactions completing in an average of three seconds.
Current platform capabilities include QR code payments, a Request to Pay service, mobile number and Emirates ID-based transfers, and multi-bank account management through a single application. Al Etihad Payments has signalled that cross-border payments, electronic direct debit, e-cheques, and business-to-business payment services are in the pipeline.
H.E. Saif Humaid Al Dhaheri, Assistant Governor for Banking Operations and Support Services at the CBUAE and Chairman of Al Etihad Payments, attributed the growth to rising customer confidence in the security and efficiency of the national payment ecosystem, framing Aani’s expansion as central to the UAE’s broader digital economy objectives.
Editor’s Note: The sixfold transaction volume growth is the standout figure here — it points to genuine behavioural shift rather than enrollment-driven inflation. The upcoming cross-border payments capability will be the next significant milestone to watch, particularly given the UAE’s large expatriate remittance flows and its ambitions as a regional financial hub.
