Telecom giant e& (formerly Etisalat) is looking to explore the utility of digital assets. The company is looking to initiate a pilot to test if stablecoins could become a viable payment option to clear bill settlements and recharges.
The telecom company has reportedly signed an MoU with Al Maryah Community Bank to test the uses of the AE Coin – which is a stablecoin developed and supervised by the Central Bank of the UAE. Each AE Coin is valued in a 1:1 ratio with the Dirham.
According to its website, e& claims to be catering to 11.6 million users including government agencies as well as over 300,000 businesses.
As part of the MoU, e& is looking to let its users pay with the AE Coin for its digital platform services and smart self-service systems. In case the company rolls out future e-commerce initiatives, it could integrate this AE Coin support with those as well.
“For our customers, this means choice, trust, and speed. Through our partnership with Mbank, AE Coin will be integrated across e& UAE channels, offering a simple, secure way to pay that’s fully regulated and ready for everyday use,” Gulf News quoted Hatem Dowidar, the group CEO of e& as saying.
The AE Coin went into its trial phase in December last year after the Central Bank of the UAE gave its green flag to the token. It was advertised as UAE’s first fully regulated Dirham-backed stablecoin.
An official confirmation on e&’s MoU with Al Maryah Community Bank remains awaited for now.
Previously, Abu Dhabi’s Tawasul Transport and aviation giant Air Arabia have also initiated payment options with the AE Coin.
Stablecoins have gained major popularity in terms of institutional adoption this year, especially after U.S. President Donald Trump signed the GENIUS Act into law. The UAE is also taking brisk steps to explore stablecoin use-cases in the course of this year.
In November this year, Ripple’s RLUSD stablecoin secured an official recognition in Abu Dhabi to be an accepted payment mode within the Abu Dhabi Global Market (ADGM) – that is presently home to over 11,100 licenced businesses.
Same month, the Central Bank of the UAE (CBUAE) approved Zand, the nation’s AI-powered digital bank, to issue its first regulated, multi-chain Zand AED stablecoin, backed by the Dirham.