FAB gives dirhams a passport-free payment lane

First Abu Dhabi Bank has launched a Jaywan debit card, allowing UAE customers to spend money domestically without requiring every coffee, grocery bill and ATM withdrawal to undertake an unnecessary diplomatic mission through an overseas payment network.

The card supports purchases at local shops, cash withdrawals from ATMs across the country and online transactions on UAE-based platforms. It is linked to eligible FAB accounts and can be managed through the bank’s mobile application, giving customers the familiar ability to watch their balance decline in real time.

Jaywan is the UAE’s first national card payment scheme and is operated by Al Etihad Payments, a subsidiary of the Central Bank of the UAE. The system is designed to process transactions locally, keep payment-related data within the country and reduce some of the costs associated with routing domestic purchases through international networks.

Banking executives described the arrangement as a breakthrough in which money spent in Abu Dhabi can now discover that its destination is also in Abu Dhabi.

The FAB card uses Chip and PIN technology, 3D Secure authentication and tokenisation. These features are intended to protect account details and verify online transactions, while preserving the traditional customer experience of briefly forgetting a PIN at the precise moment six people join the queue.

Customers can monitor transactions, manage services and control their accounts through FAB Mobile. Existing account holders can apply through the application or visit a branch, while Elite and Private Banking customers may contact their relationship managers, ensuring that financial sovereignty remains available through several appropriately tiered channels.

The launch forms part of a broader rollout of Jaywan cards by banks and licensed financial institutions. The national scheme covers debit and prepaid products, with cards accepted through point-of-sale terminals, e-commerce platforms, ATMs and supported digital wallets.

Standalone Jaywan cards are primarily designed for domestic use and other approved markets. Co-badged versions, developed through partnerships with Visa, Mastercard, UnionPay and Discover, can use Jaywan infrastructure inside the UAE and international networks abroad. This permits a card to display both national confidence and a practical understanding that its owner may eventually visit London.

The scheme was developed with technology based on the RuPay card stack through a partnership with NPCI International Payments Limited. Payment infrastructure was prepared across banks, merchants, ATMs and acquiring networks before the wider issuance programme moved forward.

The result is a local system built from international collaboration to reduce dependence on international systems, a formulation regarded by the financial industry as entirely normal and by everyone else as requiring one additional reading.

Jaywan means “precious pearl”, connecting the payment brand with the UAE’s heritage. The name also offers a more dignified image than “the plastic rectangle used to buy crisps at midnight”, which was reportedly considered too difficult to print on the front of a card.

Domestic payment schemes have become an important element of financial policy in several large economies. They can lower processing costs, strengthen operational resilience and give regulators greater control over data, infrastructure and settlement arrangements.

For merchants, local routing may create opportunities for more efficient transaction pricing. For banks, it adds competition and flexibility within the payments market. For policymakers, it means a routine supermarket purchase can now be presented as a small but meaningful contribution to national economic architecture.

Customers, meanwhile, are expected to continue choosing cards based on whether they work quickly, offer useful benefits and do not trigger an alarming notification after an ordinary fuel purchase.

The security measures reflect the growing volume of card-not-present transactions and the continuing effort to curb fraud. Tokenisation replaces sensitive card information with substitute digital credentials, while 3D Secure adds authentication during online payments.

Chip and PIN offers protection for physical transactions, provided customers do not write the PIN on the card in permanent marker as part of their own independent convenience strategy.

Jaywan also supports contactless payments, allowing consumers to tap at compatible terminals. The technology reduces checkout time and permits shoppers to experience the modern ritual of tapping once, tapping again, turning the card over, inserting it and finally being instructed to remove it immediately.

The UAE has invested heavily in digital financial infrastructure through programmes covering instant payments, open finance, digital identity and cross-border connectivity. Jaywan adds a domestic card layer to that system, alongside existing global networks rather than replacing them outright.