UAE Sets Global Precedent With Regulated Crypto Payments in Insurance

• Zodia Custody, a subsidiary of Standard Chartered bank, has partnered with Dubai Insurance to allow users to pay premiums in crypto.
• The insurer says that the initiative will establish the company as a market leader, while also integrating digital assets as adoption has spiked in the UAE.

Residents of Dubai in the UAE can now make insurance payments and receive their claims in crypto after one of the leading insurers launched a digital asset wallet.

Dubai Insurance Company, the oldest local insurer in the UAE, announced that it has partnered with Zodia Custody to launch the country’s first digital wallet for crypto in the insurance sector. Clients can now now make premium payments directly in digital assets in a first-of-its-kind initiative.

Zodia Custody is an institutional-grade crypto custody provider launched by Standard Chartered and Northern Trust.

According to the two partners, the new product will boost the customer experience and ease operational processes for the insurer.

Commenting on the partnership, Dubai Insurance CEO stated:

Zodia Custody will safeguard users’ assets with its world-leading custody solutions. The company has worked with some of the world’s largest companies, especially in Asia, with its advanced security architecture and compliance standards giving it an edge over its rivals.

Zane Suren, the managing director for Zodia Custody in the Middle East and Africa, described the new wallet as “a meaningful step forward in bringing digital assets into everyday financial services in the Middle East.”

He added:

Dubai has become a global digital asset hub, with most leading networks launching new initiatives targeting the city. Ripple and XRPL have been targeting tokenizing the city’s real estate, as we reported, while Crypto.com has gone after public fee payments.

UAE Approves First Regulated USD Stablecoin

Elsewhere in the UAE, the country’s central bank has approved the first local stablecoin backed by the US dollar. Dubbed USDU and issued by Universal Digital Intl Ltd., the new token was licenced under the Payment Token Services Regulation.

The stablecoin will be backed 1:1 by reserves held at Emirates NBD, Mbank and Mashreq banks. These reserves will be independently audited monthly for transparency and to boost trust in the stablecoin.

While it’s the first stablecoin backed by the US dollar approved in the UAE, USDU will not be the first regulated stablecoin in the country. AED was the first local stablecoin licensed in the country, and according to the latest announcement, the two will work together to enable AED-USDU conversions in the future.

Universal CEO commented: