Al Etihad Payments and Mastercard collaborate to launch “Jaywan - Mastercard” cards

Al Etihad Payments and Mastercard have partnered to launch co-badged debit and prepaid cards under the UAE's domestic card scheme Jaywan, combining local payment processing with Mastercard's global acceptance network.

The Jaywan-Mastercard cards enable domestic transactions to be processed locally through the UAE's national payment infrastructure while providing international acceptance through the Mastercard network. This dual capability gives cardholders seamless payment functionality both within the UAE and abroad.

The co-badging arrangement addresses a practical challenge of domestic card schemes: while local processing reduces costs and improves data sovereignty for domestic transactions, cardholders also need international acceptance for travel and cross-border e-commerce. The Jaywan-Mastercard combination delivers both capabilities on a single card.

Al Etihad Payments, the Central Bank of the UAE's payments subsidiary, launched the Jaywan scheme in 2024 with the objective of reducing reliance on international card networks for domestic transactions. The Mastercard partnership adds global reach without compromising the scheme's domestic processing advantages.

UAE banks that issue Jaywan-Mastercard cards benefit from lower interchange fees on domestic transactions processed through the Jaywan rails, while their customers retain the ability to use the same card at Mastercard-accepting merchants worldwide. The arrangement strengthens the commercial proposition for banks considering Jaywan adoption.

The partnership represents a significant step in the maturation of the UAE's domestic card infrastructure and positions Jaywan as a credible alternative to full reliance on international networks for domestic payment processing.