SPOTLIGHT: The team powering Dubai’s cashless, inclusive future

As the world moves rapidly toward a cashless era, Dubai stands at the forefront of financial innovation, driven by a visionary team committed to inclusivity, efficiency and technological excellence. At the heart of this transformation lies the Government of Dubai’s Department of Finance (DoF), which has redefined how residents and businesses engage with money through its revolutionary Dubai Cashless Strategy.

Announced in October 2024, the Dubai Cashless Strategy forms a cornerstone of the Dubai Economic Agenda. Its mission: to achieve 90% cashless transactions and 100% digital enablement across public and private sectors by 2026. The initiative is led by Mrs. Amna Mohamed Bin Lootah, Director – Digital Payment Systems Regulatory Division, whose leadership has been instrumental in shaping a unified digital payments ecosystem that empowers every demographic — from residents, blue collar workers and tourists and from large enterprises to micro-entrepreneurs.

Under her direction, the Division has built an ecosystem that bridges both government and private sectors, eliminating silos that typically fragment payment systems. Through partnerships with relevant government entities, regulators, global and local banks, fintech innovators and payment service providers, the team has introduced a zero-barrier entry model, reducing transaction fees, simplifying onboarding and offering multilingual support to ensure accessibility for all.

The results have been transformative. Digital transactions in the government services now thriving towards achieving strategic targets, cutting processing costs and significantly improving citizen satisfaction. Small businesses have reported benefits like revenue growth, faster reconciliation and lower payment acceptance cost vis-à-vis cash transactions due to easier access to advanced payment technologies. Meanwhile, Dubai’s thriving fintech scene has attracted over AED 2 billion in investments, cementing its status as a regional innovation hub.

Looking ahead, the team is already shaping the next wave of inclusion. Plans are underway to deploy AI-powered predictive fraud detection tools and biometric enabled payments while pilots are being conducted for acceptance of cryptocurrency in government services and rollout of Digital Dirham (CBDC) for retail use cases like instant VAT refund for tourists, parent-child sub-wallets, smart contracts and so on, and wholesale use cases such as G2G payment settlements.

Through this bold, people-centric vision, the DoF continues to transform Dubai’s financial landscape— proving that when technology meets inclusivity, the result is not just progress, but empowerment for all.