Al Etihad Payments, the CBUAE's payments subsidiary, announced that the Aani instant payment platform surpassed 1.5 million registered users and connected 57 financial institutions by November 2025 - roughly two years after its October 2023 launch.
E-Commerce Expansion
Aani extended beyond P2P and bill payments into e-commerce, allowing UAE residents to pay online merchants directly from bank accounts. This positions Aani as a direct competitor to card networks for domestic online transactions, mirroring the trajectory of India's UPI and Brazil's PIX.
Proxy Payment Adoption
The platform's instant payment addressing (IPA) service - enabling payments via mobile number, email, or Emirates ID - has been a key adoption driver. Over 80% of Aani transactions now use proxy identifiers rather than IBANs.
What This Means
Aani's growth rate outpaces most Gulf instant payment launches. The e-commerce expansion is significant: if merchants adopt Aani at scale, it could reduce the UAE's heavy reliance on card payments for online commerce. The CBUAE's target of universal bank participation by mid-2026 would make Aani a genuine national payment rail.