🔮 The Future of Payment Solutions in the UAE
What Merchants Should Know About Aani, Open Banking & Biometric Payments

The payments landscape in the UAE is evolving rapidly, driven by government initiatives, fintech innovation, and changing consumer expectations. As a merchant, staying ahead of these trends can be the key to improving customer experience and staying competitive.

Here's a look at the future of payment solutions in the UAE—and the technologies that are already reshaping the way businesses accept payments.

🇦🇪 1. Aani – UAE’s Instant Payment Platform

Launched under the Central Bank of the UAE’s National Payment Systems Strategy, Aani is the country’s new instant payments platform, allowing real-time transfers 24/7 between participating banks and fintechs.

Why it matters for merchants:

• Instant settlements (funds appear within seconds)
• Reduced reliance on cards and expensive interchange fees
• Low-cost transactions – ideal for high-frequency, low-margin businesses
• QR code-ready for physical stores and delivery use cases

Aani is expected to enable merchants to accept payments directly from customer accounts, opening the door to real-time pay-by-bank models that bypass traditional card schemes.

🌐 2. Open Banking – More Control, More Competition

Open Banking allows licensed third parties (with user consent) to access bank account data or initiate payments on behalf of customers. While still in the early stages in the UAE, the Central Bank is actively working on creating an open banking framework.

How it benefits merchants:

• Accept account-to-account payments with lower fees
• Reduce fraud through strong customer authentication (SCA)
• Offer subscription billing, faster loan processing, and automated financial tools
• Enable better personalization with access to customer financial profiles

When combined with solutions like Aani, Open Banking will enable merchants to offer instant, secure, and low-cost alternatives to cards—perfect for e-commerce, SaaS, and recurring billing models.

✋ 3. Biometric Payments – Paying with Your Hand

While biometric authentication (e.g., Face ID) is already mainstream in mobile payments, biometric-based in-store payments are gaining traction. Companies like IDcentric and Mirex are pioneering palm recognition technology, enabling users to pay with just a scan of their hand—no phone or card required.

Why this could be a game-changer:

• Faster checkout in high-traffic retail, stadiums, and theme parks
• Removes need for wallets, phones, or cards
• Highly secure – uses vein recognition, which is harder to spoof
• Could be deployed in closed-loop ecosystems (hotels, events, campuses)

While still in early rollout, this tech is gaining attention globally from players like Amazon One. In the UAE, early adoption could come from retailers, hospitality, and entertainment venues.

🔍 What Should Merchants Do Now?

As these technologies roll out, merchants should:

• Stay informed about initiatives like Aani and Open Banking
• Upgrade POS and payment gateways to support future-ready payment methods
• Consider partnering with payment providers that offer early integration into these services
• Use platforms like PaySelect to stay ahead of what each provider is offering

🚀 How PaySelect Helps

At PaySelect, we help UAE merchants navigate the fast-changing payment ecosystem with clarity and confidence. Our comparison platform highlights:

• Which providers offer Aani, Open Banking, or biometric integrations
• The best-fit solution for your industry and volume
• Setup fees, transaction costs, and settlement timelines

As the market transforms, having the right payment partner will be essential. Let PaySelect guide you to the future of payments—today.

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