Mastercard Chief Financial Officer Ling Hai, who assumed office on August 3, 2026, told investors at a Goldman Sachs conference that the company expects to process almost 100% of UAE debit card transactions once implementation of its domestic switching arrangement is complete, according to a report by TIKR. Hai cited the UAE as a blueprint for responding to governments seeking sovereign payment infrastructure.
Under the arrangement, Al Etihad Payments (AEP), a wholly owned subsidiary of the Central Bank of the UAE, owns and operates the national card switch and the domestic Jaywan scheme. Following an initial agreement for co-branded debit and prepaid cards in March 2025, AEP announced an expanded partnership on July 21, 2026, covering switching and processing infrastructure and establishing a new Mastercard network node in the UAE. Transactions under the mandate are routed through the domestic switch.
TIKR reported that the 100% processing figure represents a forward-looking claim by Mastercard as system rollout remains underway. Mastercard is also not the UAE's exclusive international partner. On July 21, 2026, UnionPay International signed a memorandum of understanding with AEP to accept single-brand Jaywan cards across the global UnionPay network and expand UnionPay-Jaywan co-branded card issuance, following a first completed transaction in November 2025.
The report compared the UAE model to Mastercard's market entry in China, where its joint venture with NetsUnion Clearing Corp. secured formal bank card clearing approval from the People's Bank of China in November 2023.
Sources
- TIKR.com · 2026-09-28
