Amazon, Emirates Islamic, and Mastercard Unveil No-Fee Credit Card in UAE

Malaz Madani

Last updated 1-10-2025

4 min

Amazon launches its first Middle East credit card with Emirates Islamic and Mastercard in the UAE.

The no-fee card offers up to 6% rewards on Amazon.

ae purchases, redeemable instantly.

Digital-only application promises seamless management and rewards for diverse spending.

Mastercard ensures security with tokenisation technology, boosting trust in digital banking.

Aims to influence consumer behaviour as part of UAE’s smart economy push.

Amazon has teamed up with Emirates Islamic and Mastercard to roll out the first-ever Amazon-branded credit card in the Middle East and North Africa, starting in the UAE. The move is pitched squarely at the country’s increasingly digital-savvy shoppers, who are looking for payment options that fit in with their daily lives rather than just ticking the usual boxes.

Here’s the standout bit: the Amazon Emirates Islamic Mastercard Credit Card comes free for life—no annual fees at all. Cardholders will earn as much as 6% back on their Amazon.ae purchases, credited instantly to their accounts, and up to 2.5% on spending elsewhere. The value can be redeemed on the customer’s next Amazon.ae shop, which makes the experience feel seamless. I reckon that “instant redemption” angle is spot on for the UAE’s impatient but innovative consumer base.

The card application will be a digital-only process, and users will be able to manage everything through a digital-first setup. To be fair, anything less would’ve felt a bit of a faff in today’s app-led world. Emirates Islamic says it’s keen to meet the evolving needs of customers with rewards across everyday life—shopping, travel, dining, even instalment plans.

Ronaldo Mouchawar, who heads Amazon’s business in the Middle East, Africa, and Turkey, described it as “an unmatched combination of rewards and benefits,” highlighting that Prime members in particular will scoop up even bigger savings. Emirates Islamic’s CEO, Farid AlMulla, stressed that being the first bank in the region to pull off a co-branded Amazon card reflects its ambition to deliver lifestyle perks at home and abroad. On Mastercard’s side, Dimitrios Dosis, regional president for Eastern Europe, Middle East, and Africa, said the collaboration brings security and convenience together—thanks to Mastercard’s tokenisation technology, which keeps sensitive payment details hidden behind encrypted “tokens.”

Beyond cashback, customers can expect a welcome bonus, 0% instalment plans with Amazon.ae and partners, airport lounge access (over a thousand of them, if you travel a lot), discounts on travel bookings, valet parking, golf perks, even concierge services. Depending on which version of the card a customer takes—Platinum or World—the privileges will vary slightly.

From an entrepreneurship lens, Arageek often hears founders worrying about payment adoption barriers in the region. I remember chatting with a young fintech team in Dubai earlier this year—they were desperate for more mainstream products that nudge people further into digital payments. On the flip side, they also warned against flooding the market with shiny but confusing offers. This new card feels more streamlined; it might just encourage wider trust in digital-first banking.

The timing is interesting, too. The UAE has been pushing its smart economy ambitions, and collaborations like this one show how global giants and local banks can shape consumer behaviour practically overnight. Not every credit card launch is worth writing home about, but this particular one could well set the tone for others in the MENA market. And believe it or not, such partnerships aren’t only about rewards—they’re also a signal of how entrenched tech giants are becoming in financial services.

Applications for the new card will open in the coming months. For UAE customers who shop online regularly, this might be one to watch closely, though I’m not a fan of credit cards with too many bells and whistles—I prefer it simple. Still, in this case, the blend of perks and digital ease could leave customers genuinely chuffed to bits.

It’s a small product launch on paper, sure. But in the bigger picture, it reflects a new wave of digital banking convenience spreading across the region—and that definately makes it worth keeping an eye on.

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