Network International has expanded acceptance of Jaywan, the UAE's domestic card scheme, to online transactions, allowing cardholders to use the card across the company's e-commerce merchant network for the first time.
The fintech firm, a major payments player across the Middle East and Africa, had previously enabled Jaywan for in-person payments and has now integrated the scheme into its e-commerce gateway platform. The move allows customers to pay with Jaywan cards at thousands of Network's online merchants in the UAE, with no extra fees charged to merchants for transactions processed through the gateway.
Jaywan was launched by Al Etihad Payments, a subsidiary of the Central Bank of the UAE, as part of the country's broader digital transformation strategy aimed at boosting innovation, digitization and global interoperability in payments.
Pinar Alpay, Group Chief Product and Marketing Officer at Network International, said extending Jaywan to online payments builds naturally on the company's existing partnership with Al Etihad Payments. She noted that having already supported Jaywan for in-store transactions, Network is now bringing the same security and consistency to online commerce, calling it a step that reinforces the UAE's push toward a fully cashless economy.
Andrea Cianchetti, Chief Products Officer at Al Etihad Payments, said Jaywan's expansion depends on wide industry participation, with each new issuer, acquirer or payment provider widening where cardholders can use the scheme, whether in stores, online or via mobile wallets. He described Network's online rollout as another meaningful step in extending Jaywan's reach.
Network was among the first acquirers to support Jaywan for in-person payments in the UAE. The latest development is expected to further the country's financial inclusion and digital payments agenda, giving consumers a more consistent and secure way to pay regardless of channel.
News Source: Emirates News Agency
