UAE’s Instant Payments Platform Aani Hits 12.5 Million Users Milestone

The UAE’s national instant payments platform, Aani, has crossed 12.5 million users, another sign of how quickly the country is moving towards a cash-light economy. The milestone was announced by Al Etihad Payments, a subsidiary of the Central Bank of the UAE (CBUAE), alongside fresh operational figures that point to surging adoption.

For anyone who has been watching the region’s fintech space, this didn’t happen overnight. But still, 12.5 million users is no small feat. It suggests that digital payments in the UAE are not just a trend, they’re becoming part of daily habit.

Aani is now connected to 74 licensed financial institutions, creating what officials describe as a highly efficient network. The platform currently integrates with 85 per cent of banks in the country, alongside 10 per cent of exchange houses and 5 per cent of digital wallets and finance companies. That level of reach matters. Payments only feel seamless when the pipes behind them are well connected, otherwise it becomes a bit of a faff for users trying to move money between institutions.

Growth figures tell an even stronger story. The number of transfers recorded a sixfold year-on-year increase, with average monthly growth running at 10 per cent throughout 2025. Around 25,000 transfers are now executed daily using just mobile numbers. No IBAN memorising, no lengthy details, just a number and done. I’ve spoken to founders across the MENA region who say ease of payments can make or break customer retention, and in this case, the simplicity seems spot on.

Merchant adoption is equally striking. Approximately 774,000 businesses across the UAE have integrated Aani as a primary payment solution. For small and medium-sized enterprises in particular, instant account-to-account payments, settled in no more than three seconds, can significantly improve cash flow. Waiting days for funds to clear? That’s increasingly looking outdated.

The platform’s features continue to expand. Users can pay via QR codes, send or request money, transfer funds using a mobile number or Emirates ID, and manage multiple accounts from different banks and wallets within a single application. And believe it or not, more services are already in the pipeline, including cross-border payments, electronic direct debit, e-cheques, and business-to-business transfers. If delivered smoothly, that could deepen Aani’s role in everyday commerce.

Saif Humaid Al Dhaheri, Assistant Governor for Banking Operations and Support Services at the CBUAE and Chairman of Al Etihad Payments, said the rapid uptake reflects growing customer confidence in the security and efficiency of the national payment ecosystem. He added that the Central Bank remains committed to advancing the UAE’s digital economy by enabling seamless and instant payment services for individuals and businesses.

From where I stand, watching how startups across MENA struggle at times with fragmentation in payments infrastructure, I can’t help but think the UAE’s approach is a case study worth following. At Arageek, we often see founders chuffed to bits when they expand into markets with reliable instant payments, it removes friction, plain and simple. On the flip side, scaling in markets where transfers are slow or expensive? Well… I mean, that can hold back innovation faster than most people realise.

There’s still room to grow. Integration percentages show that not all financial players are yet on board, and new features must prove themselves in practice. But if the current trajectory continues, Aani may well become one of the region’s most established digital payment rails.

And in a world where speed and trust are everything in fintech, that’s definatley not something to ignore.

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