Dubai to Pilot Combined Nol-Jaywan Transport and Payment Cards This Month

The agreement was signed on 4 November by Mattar Al Tayer, the RTA's director general and chairman of its board of executive directors, and Saif Humaid Al Dhaheri, the central bank's assistant governor for banking operations and support services and chairman of Al Etihad Payments, the two organisations said in a press release.

The deal matters on two fronts. It moves Dubai's fare system to account-based ticketing, in which journeys are charged to an account held centrally rather than to a balance stored on the card. It also gives Jaywan, which the central bank launched to reduce the UAE's reliance on international card networks for domestic payments, an everyday consumer product: a card many residents already carry daily.

Under the plan, holders will be able to use nol for travel and make other payments through Jaywan. The cards can be activated and used on Android and iOS smartphones, and will work on public and private transport across the UAE, including online booking platforms for public transport, according to the release. Cardholders will have access to more than 120 promotional offers and discounts.

The November pilot covers RTA public transport, public and private transport including taxis, and public parking. Wider rollout will follow in successive phases.

Al Tayer said the approach "puts customers at the heart of service design". Al Dhaheri called the integration of Jaywan with nol "a significant leap towards unifying the UAE's digital payments infrastructure".

The agreement adds to recent moves to widen Jaywan's reach. This week Visa added Jaywan debit, credit and prepaid cards to its online acceptance platform, letting merchants on that platform take the domestic cards for e-commerce payments.

The RTA has not said when the new cards will be widely available, what they will cost, or whether holders of existing nol cards will need to replace them.