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The UAE Ministry of Finance has adopted Aani and Jaywan as new payment channels for federal service fees and fines, becoming the first federal government entity to implement the move. The change follows Cabinet Resolution No. 176M/4M of 2026, which authorises the adoption of both systems and sets the fees applicable to their use.
What’s actually changing
Federal service fees and fines can now be paid through Aani, the national instant payments platform, and Jaywan, the national card scheme, alongside whatever channels the Ministry already accepted. H.E. Younis Haji AlKhoori, the Ministry’s Undersecretary, called the move “a strategic milestone that reflects the Ministry’s unwavering commitment to adopting the UAE’s latest nationally approved financial innovations.”
Saeed Rashid Al Yateem, Assistant Undersecretary for the Government Budget and Revenue Sector, said the adoption “underscores the Ministry’s commitment to continuously enhancing the government collection ecosystem.”
Neither official’s statement specifies which particular fees or fines are covered, nor the exact fee amounts the Cabinet Resolution sets for using either channel.
What Aani and Jaywan actually are
| Detail | Aani | Jaywan |
|---|---|---|
| What it is | National instant payments platform | National domestic card scheme |
| Established | 2023 | 2024 |
| Operator | Al Etihad Payments (a CBUAE subsidiary), supervised by the Central Bank | Al Etihad Payments (a CBUAE subsidiary), launched by the Central Bank |
| How it works | Instant, 24/7 transfers using a mobile number, Emirates ID, email, QR code, or IBAN | Domestic card scheme active at point-of-sale terminals, ATMs, and digital wallets |
| Scale | 12.5 million users, 74 licensed financial institutions, transactions settling in under 10 seconds | First cards issued by FAB and CBD when the scheme went live on 20 July 2026 |
| Limits | Capped at AED50,000 per transaction | Not disclosed in this announcement |
Both platforms sit under Al Etihad Payments, giving the Ministry a single infrastructure operator behind both new channels rather than two separate systems to integrate. Jaywan’s 2024 establishment as a scheme predates the actual live card issuance that began this July, when FAB and CBD issued the first cards, a distinction worth keeping straight since the scheme and its live rollout are two different milestones.
Why it matters
For the UAE’s government payments push
This adoption sits inside the UAE’s Financial Infrastructure Transformation programme, the broader push to lower payment costs, promote financial inclusion, and modernise the country’s digital economy. A federal ministry adopting both platforms for fee and fine collection is a different kind of signal than another bank or fintech doing the same: it’s the government demonstrating use of infrastructure it built and regulates, rather than asking the private sector to adopt it first. The announcement explicitly frames this as paving the way for other federal entities and collection banks to follow, “each in accordance with their approved procedures.”
For residents and businesses paying federal fees
For anyone paying a federal service fee or fine, the practical change is two more payment options: instant transfer via Aani or a Jaywan-issued card, on top of whatever the Ministry already accepted. What isn’t yet clear is which specific fees and fines this covers on day one, whether the fee attached to using either channel adds any cost compared to existing payment methods, and when other federal entities beyond the Ministry of Finance will follow.
What’s next
The rollout to other federal entities and collection banks is the detail worth tracking, since the Ministry of Finance is explicitly positioned as the first mover rather than the whole of it. Confirmation of which fees and fines are covered, the actual charges for using Aani or Jaywan under this resolution, and a timeline for other ministries adopting the same channels would all sharpen a story that is currently long on framing and short on specifics.
FAQs
What is Aani in the UAE?
Aani is the UAE’s national instant payments platform, operated by Al Etihad Payments and supervised by the Central Bank of the UAE. It allows transfers to settle in under 10 seconds using a mobile number, Emirates ID, email, QR code, or IBAN, with a cap of AED50,000 per transaction.
What is Jaywan in the UAE?
Jaywan is the UAE’s national domestic card scheme, established in 2024 and operated by Al Etihad Payments. It functions at point-of-sale terminals, ATMs, and digital wallets, with FAB and CBD issuing the first live cards when the scheme’s card issuance began in July 2026.
What is Al Etihad Payments?
Al Etihad Payments is a subsidiary of the Central Bank of the UAE that operates the country’s national payment infrastructure, including both Aani and Jaywan.
How is a national instant payment platform different from a national card scheme?
An instant payment platform like Aani moves money directly between bank accounts in real time, without a physical or virtual card. A card scheme like Jaywan issues cards that work at point-of-sale terminals, ATMs, and online checkouts, similar in structure to Visa or Mastercard but operating on domestic rails.
What is the UAE’s Financial Infrastructure Transformation programme?
It’s the UAE’s broader initiative to modernise its national payments infrastructure, aimed at lowering payment costs, promoting financial inclusion, and strengthening the digital economy, of which Aani and Jaywan are both a part.
Editor’s Take: The genuinely significant part is the first-mover positioning: a federal ministry demonstrating Aani and Jaywan in a government-collections context is the kind of proof point other federal entities and collection banks can point to when they adopt the same rails. Whether that actually happens, and on what timeline, is the part worth watching, not the milestone language attached to this particular announcement.