UAE telecoms heavyweight e& is preparing to test whether a regulated stablecoin can support everyday consumer payments, marking one of the country’s most visible moves towards blockchain-based financial infrastructure.
Key points to remember:
- e& has partnered with community bank Al Maryah to pilot the AE Coin stablecoin for everyday consumer payments.
- The trial will test AE Coin on e&’s digital services, including bill payment.
- This initiative reflects the UAE’s broader push to regulate digital finance.
The company signed a memorandum of understanding with Al Maryah Community Bank to explore how a dirham-pegged token could work in its digital services.
e& tests AE Coin Stablecoin for bill payments and digital services
The trial is centered around AE Coin, a stablecoin fully backed and licensed by the Central Bank of the UAE.
As part of the agreement, e& will evaluate how the token can be integrated with its payment systems, potentially allowing customers to pay mobile and home service bills, recharge prepaid lines, manage postpaid accounts and interact with its digital platforms using a blockchain-based settlement method.
Leaders from both parties framed the partnership as part of the UAE’s broader ambition to bring regulated digital finance into the mainstream.
Hatem Dowidar, CEO of e& Group, said the stablecoin offers “instant settlement, full transparency and frictionless access,” highlighting its appeal as a next-generation payment rail.
Mohammed Wassim Khayata, CEO of Al Maryah Community Bank, added that the pilot opens the door to the expansion of “real-world applications” for licensed virtual assets.
Although e& has expressed interest in a possible link between the token and e-commerce channels, the initiative remains firmly in the exploratory stage.
A memorandum of understanding indicates intent rather than deployment, meaning that timelines, scope of deployment and consumer impact are still undefined. For now, the trial will focus on internal infrastructure testing rather than a public launch.
Ramez Rafeek, chief executive of AED Stablecoin, the company behind AE Coin, described the collaboration as an important step for regulated digital payments, positioning the stablecoin as a potential backbone for essential services.
The company was among the first to receive approval in principle under the UAE’s Payment Token Services Regulatory Framework, putting it ahead in the region’s increasingly competitive stablecoin race.
The UAE has actively advanced its regulatory approach to virtual assets as it seeks to build a compliant digital financial ecosystem.
Tether and Binance obtain regulatory approval in ADGM
As noted, Tether’s USDT stablecoin has also gained regulatory recognition as an approved fiat-referenced token on a wide range of blockchains within the ADGM.
Tether said the ADGM now allows licensed financial free zone institutions to conduct regulated activities involving USDT on Aptos, Celo, Cosmos, Kaia, Near, Polkadot, Tezos, TON and TRON.
These approvals extend to the previous recognition of USDT on Ethereum, Solana and Avalanche.
On Monday, Binance revealed that it had also obtained full authorization to operate its flagship platform Binance.com under the supervision of the ADGM, a significant step that comes after years of regulatory scrutiny.
Binance will operate through three separate legal entities in the zone, an exchange, a clearing house and a broker-dealer, reflecting a traditional financial market structure designed to enable regulated trading, custody, settlement and off-exchange services.
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