UAE flag carrier Emirates is considering the implementation of advanced digital payment solutions, the airline’s chief operating officer (COO) Adel Ahmed Al-Redha told local media.
According to a report by Arab News published on May 11, 2022, the Dubai-based airline is preparing to recruit additional staff to design and develop customer applications, where the carrier will add payment options in cryptocurrency for its customers.
According to Adel Ahmed Al-Redha, Emirates is currently focused on advanced payment solutions in Bitcoin as well as adding non-fungible token (NFT) collectibles on the carrier’s websites for trading in the future.
The COO did not disclose when Emirates expects to implement the new payment service but explained that the carrier aims to launch metaverse and NFTs to align the airline business with “the UAE vision for the digital economy”. He added that they would be adapting blockchain technology for tracing records of the airline’s fleet.
“NFTs and metaverse are two different applications and approaches. With the metaverse, you will be able to transform your whole processes — whether it is in operation, training, sales on the website, or complete experience — into a metaverse type application, but more importantly making it interactive,” Adel Ahmed Al-Redha was cited as saying.
The airline’s CEO Ahmed bin Saeed Al Maktoum was the first to officially hint at the launch of Emirates’ NFT and metaverse experience in April 2022. The CEO unveiled the carrier’s plans “to build signature brand experiences in the metaverse, alongside both collectible and utility-based NFTs” during the coming months of 2022.
“We are excited about the opportunities in the digital space of the future and are committing significant investment in financial and resource terms, to develop products and services using advanced technologies that will deliver on revenue, brand experience, and business efficiencies,” the CEO said.