Noon payments has enabled online acceptance of Jaywan, the United Arab Emirates’ domestic card scheme, through Mastercard Gateway. The capability is available through Mastercard Merchant Cloud and is now live for e-commerce transactions.
The arrangement allows customers to use Jaywan cards across noon payments’ digital payment ecosystem. Merchants and payment partners using the company’s infrastructure can consequently support the domestic card alongside international payment methods through a common gateway, rather than treating it as an entirely separate acceptance channel.
At the checkout page, the change should be relatively unobtrusive to shoppers. Its significance lies behind the screen: a locally operated card scheme is being connected to infrastructure already used to process online payments, extending Jaywan’s reach beyond physical terminals and individual merchant integrations.
Connecting Local Cards with Established Infrastructure
Jaywan is operated by Al Etihad Payments, the national payments entity established by the Central Bank of the UAE. Al Etihad Payments describes Jaywan as the country’s national card-payment scheme, developed around domestic requirements while remaining connected to international payment networks.
The Central Bank of the UAE formally announced Jaywan’s nationwide launch in July 2026, opening the way for banks, licensed financial institutions and exchange houses to issue the cards.
Acceptance is the other side of that rollout. A domestic scheme can be issued widely, but its usefulness depends on where cardholders can actually pay. Integrating Jaywan into noon payments’ online infrastructure broadens the settings in which those issued cards can be used and reduces the need for merchants to build a separate technical route to the scheme.
Mastercard Gateway handles payment processing across websites, mobile applications and physical commerce channels. The gateway is offered through Mastercard Merchant Cloud, an acceptance framework that combines payment processing, authentication, tokenization, security and other merchant services. In this case, Mastercard provides the gateway connection rather than replacing Jaywan as the card scheme used for the transaction.
Three Parties with Different Roles
Mastercard said the integration was intended to give businesses more payment options while supporting the development of the UAE’s domestic payment infrastructure.
Prakriti Singh, Mastercard’s executive vice president for Core Payments in Eastern Europe, the Middle East and Africa, said: “At Mastercard, we fully support the UAE’s vision for a more inclusive and innovative digital economy. By enabling Jaywan acceptance through Mastercard Gateway, we are helping businesses offer consumers greater choice while supporting the continued evolution of the country’s payment infrastructure. This collaboration reflects our commitment to delivering locally relevant payment solutions that combine market-preferred payment methods with Mastercard’s global capabilities.”
Noon payments, meanwhile, is providing the merchant-facing environment through which Jaywan transactions can be accepted.
Mosam Gadia, senior vice president at noon payments, commented: "We're proud to enable Jaywan acceptance through Mastercard Gateway. The future of payments in the UAE will be built on a mix of strong global networks and strong local payment solutions, and merchants shouldn't have to choose between the two. At noon payments, we're focused on making payments simpler, faster, and more accessible for businesses and consumers. Bringing Jaywan onto our infrastructure is another step towards giving merchants more choice while supporting the continued growth of the UAE's digital economy."
Al Etihad Payments serves a different function as Jaywan’s operator. Andrea Cianchetti, the company’s chief products officer, added: “Expanding acceptance is central to the growth of any card scheme. We are glad to announce that Jaywan acceptance for e-commerce transactions is live, and this represents a critical milestone in our Jaywan journey. Through this partnership, noon, Mastercard and AEP contribute to strengthen the proposition to the merchants, who now have the possibility to accept our national payment card, and contribute to the payment strategy of the UAE.”
What Changes for Merchants and Cardholders
Businesses connected to noon payments can now potentially add Jaywan without maintaining an isolated processing arrangement for the scheme.
Cardholders gain another online setting in which their domestic cards can be used. The reach of the service will depend on merchant participation, card issuance by banks and consumer adoption.
The development also reflects a broader policy effort to establish more payment infrastructure within the UAE. The central bank has included Jaywan among the initiatives supporting the modernization of the country’s financial system. Domestic card schemes can give national payment authorities greater influence over local processing arrangements, though individual benefits depend on scheme design, merchant participation and interoperability.
As acceptance widens, Jaywan could give UAE consumers a domestic alternative to internationally branded cards when shopping online. Its longer-term role in e-commerce will become clearer as more issuers and merchants support the scheme and transaction data becomes available.
