Emirates announced Tuesday that it will accept digital currencies as payment through a partnership with Singaporean cryptocurrency exchange Crypto.com.
Customers with a Crypto.com account will now be able to select “Crypto.com Pay” when booking tickets through Emirates’ website or mobile app. There is one caveat, however – the option is available only to eligible residents of the United Arab Emirates for bookings priced and settled in the Emirati dirham.
The airline did not say if or when the option will be made available for travelers outside of the UAE.
Still, Emirates is believed to be the first airline to accept crypto in any form as payment for bookings.
The carrier entered a commercial partnership with Crypto.com in July 2025 and named payment integration as one of their shared goals.
“Bringing this initiative to life delivers on our commitment to expanding customer choice in how they pay for travel,” Adnan Kazim, Emirates’ deputy president and chief commercial officer, said in a news release. “It also reflects the rapidly evolving preferences of a younger, digitally fluent generation who manage their money and plan their journeys primarily from their phones and they expect the airlines they fly with to keep pace.”
Customers using Emirates’ mobile app will be directed to the Crypto.com app to complete their payment from their wallet, before being redirected back to Emirates to receive their booking confirmation and e-ticket.
On desktop, users select Crypto.com Pay at the payment step, then scan the QR code displayed on the booking page and approve the payment in their Crypto.com app. Once the payment is approved, the booking confirmation and e-ticket are issued on their screen.
