Dubai’s banking major Emirates NBD has turned to blockchain to facilitate simpler and quicker cross-border transactions. On Tuesday, the bank announced its partnership with Partior, a private and permissioned blockchain network founded by TradFi heavyweights including J.P. Morgan, DBS Bank, and Standard Chartered in 2021. The collaboration aims to facilitate real-time USD transactions for Emirates NBD clients via blockchain.
The development has reportedly made Emirates NBD UAE’s first bank to use blockchain to upgrade its international payment systems. This new onchain settlement service is first being made available to corporate and institutional clients.
To support this initial service launch phase, J.P. Morgan will be serving as the bank overseeing all of Emirate NBD’s blockchain-based US dollar payments.
The move is pivotal as it testifies to the UAE taking tangible, gradual steps towards adopting advanced technologies.
The NBD bank, that was first launched in 1963 as the National Bank of Dubai, holds a deep legacy in UAE’s financial landscape. It merged with the Emirates Bank International (EBI) in 2007 to become Emirates NBD. As of January 2026, the bank held 35 percent of UAE’s credit card market and nearly 22 percent for UAE’s total assets.
Emirates NBD said its adoption of blockchain signals at a broader strategy aimed at introducing newer technologies to UAE’s financial ecosystem.
By leveraging blockchain into its U.S.-focussed settlement system, the bank is betting big on bringing more transparency to international transfers. All data logged onto blockchain leave a permanent and immutable record, which is what makes it the technology for financial transparency.
“The launch demonstrates our ability to deploy secure, scalable payment solutions and successfully execute live cross-border transactions with global counterparties,” Khaleej Times quoted Aneeth Daniel, Group Head of Transaction Banking at Emirates NBD as saying.
In the coming future, Emirates NBD plans to expand support for more currencies for its onchain settlement feature while also upgrading its programmable liquidity management offerings.
