Crypto.com Pay launches at Dubai Duty Free in UAE merchant expansion

Crypto.com Pay is now accepted at Dubai Duty Free, extending the company’s QR-based checkout network to one of the UAE’s largest retail operators and a major airport shopping venue for international travelers. The rollout covers physical stores at DXB and DWC airports as well as Dubai Duty Free’s official website, and allows payments in SHIB alongside 29 other cryptocurrencies including BTC, ETH, XRP and DOGE. The setup is a merchant-acceptance expansion rather than a change to Crypto.com’s card business. Shoppers pay from balances in the Crypto.com Pay app, the assets are converted instantly at the prevailing exchange rate, and the retailer receives UAE dirhams rather than holding crypto directly. The service is currently available only to verified UAE residents. That structure helps reduce market risk for merchants and fits Dubai’s broader push toward digital payments. The move follows Emirates Airlines adopting Crypto.com Pay for flight bookings and comes as the emirate advances its D33 strategy, which aims to shift up to 90% of transactions into cashless digital formats. The integration was enabled after Crypto.com received a Central Bank of the UAE license to provide stored-value payment services, placing airport retail crypto purchases within a regulated framework. For users, the practical effect is a wider set of places where app-based crypto balances can be spent directly. For merchants, direct wallet-style checkout can reduce exposure to crypto price swings because settlement is made in fiat. Key pricing details such as any conversion spread at checkout still have not been disclosed.