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PayPal Links With NEO PAY To Power UAE E-Commerce
New integration lets UAE merchants accept PayPal at checkout, cutting friction for SMEs selling to customers abroad.
PayPal has struck a partnership with UAE acquirer NEO PAY to let local merchants accept PayPal payments, giving businesses a faster route to overseas customers and cross-border sales.
The deal connects PayPal directly to NEO PAY’s acquiring infrastructure, allowing online sellers to switch on PayPal at checkout without separate integrations or complex onboarding. For smaller merchants, that removes a common barrier to selling internationally: access to a payment method foreign shoppers already recognize.
The timing is deliberate. The UAE’s e-commerce market is projected to reach $21.18 billion by 2030, according to Mordor Intelligence, as online retail and digital services continue to outpace traditional channels. SMEs — about 94% of all businesses in the country and more than half of GDP — account for much of that activity, yet often lack the tools to handle cross-border payments at scale.
For PayPal, the agreement extends its footprint in the Middle East and Africa through a local partner rather than a standalone build-out. “Deepening our presence through this partnership with NEO PAY is a critical step in our regional growth strategy,” said Otto Williams, Senior Vice President, Regional Head and General Manager, Middle East and Africa, at PayPal. “By integrating PayPal, merchants, especially SMEs, can better serve today’s digital-first consumers and scale with confidence”.
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NEO PAY, which focuses on digital acquiring for e-commerce merchants, is positioning the tie-up as a way to broaden payment choice while keeping operations simple. “This partnership allows us to provide secure, trusted, and globally recognized payment options — enhancing the checkout experience and supporting our merchants’ growth across borders,” said Vibhor Mundhada, CEO of NEO PAY.
The move reflects a wider shift in the Gulf’s payments stack. Local processors are increasingly acting as gateways to global wallets and networks, a model that fits the UAE’s push to grow exports, support SMEs and cement its role as a regional digital commerce hub. For merchants, it’s straightforward: fewer hoops at checkout, more reach beyond the country’s borders.
News
Dirham-Backed Stablecoin DDSC Enters Live Phase In UAE
Central Bank approval moves the dirham-backed token into deployment, targeting regulated payments and settlement flows.
The UAE has cleared the launch of DDSC, a dirham-backed stablecoin now entering live operation after approval from the Central Bank. The move pushes the project beyond its pilot phase and into the country’s regulated financial system.
The token is backed by a consortium led by IHC, Sirius International Holding and First Abu Dhabi Bank (FAB), framing it as an institutional instrument rather than a consumer crypto product. DDSC was first announced in April 2025, but regulatory clearance now allows deployment and integration across approved channels.
DDSC runs on ADI Chain, a Layer 2 blockchain built by the Abu Dhabi-based ADI Foundation. The infrastructure is designed for governance and performance requirements expected by large institutions, linking blockchain settlement with existing compliance and oversight frameworks.
The focus is practical, targeting treasury settlements, high-value payments, trade and supply-chain transactions, and programmable financial flows for regulated entities. FAB plans to offer access to the token through approved platforms for its clients, keeping the rollout inside controlled banking environments.
“DDSC marks a defining milestone in the UAE’s digital finance journey,” said Syed Basar Shueb, CEO of IHC. “With the Central Bank’s approval and our transition into live operation, we are delivering trusted, institutional-grade infrastructure that strengthens resilience, accelerates innovation, and expands what is possible in regulated digital payments”.
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FAB says the project reflects how stablecoins can sit within traditional finance when risk controls are built in from the outset. “This milestone underscores that stablecoins can be integrated responsibly into the financial system when built to meet rigorous regulatory and risk requirements,” said Futoon Hamdan AlMazrouei, Group Head of Personal, Business, Wealth and Privileged Client Banking Group at FAB.
The launch reinforces the UAE’s strategy of pushing digital finance through regulation instead of open-ended crypto experimentation. Stablecoins in this model are positioned less as trading assets and more as programmable extensions of national currency, aimed at institutional scale and government use cases.
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