Emirates Plans on Adding Bitcoin as a Payments Service

Emirates, a major airline based in the United Arab Emirates, intends to add "Bitcoin as a payment service" and will also launch a non-fungible token (NFT) trading platform. On May 12, Emirates' Chief Operating Officer (COO), Adel Ahmed Al-Redha, revealed this information at a media gathering at the Arabian Travel Market, an international travel trade show. The move comes just weeks after the airline announced in an official statement its interest in launching digital collectibles and improving its flyers' metaverse experiences.

According to remarks reported by Arab News, Al Redha suggests that his company may need to hire employees to help it develop applications that monitor customer needs. Al Redha has remained tight-lipped about when the airline plans to launch its Bitcoin payment service.

At the event, Al Redha also discussed the differences between NFTs and the metaverse, explaining, "Metaverse and NFTs are two distinct applications and approaches. You'll be able to turn your entire process — whether it's in operation, training, online sales, or the entire experience — into a metaverse-style application, but more importantly, make it interactive, using the metaverse."

Emirates said in a mid-April announcement that the first NFT and metaverse projects are already in the works, with a launch expected in the coming months.

HH Sheikh Ahmed bin Saeed Al Maktoum, the chairman of Emirates, said in a statement, "Emirates has always embraced advanced technologies to improve our business processes, enhance our customer offering, and enrich our employees' skills and experiences."

Furthermore, Emirates is repurposing its Emirates Pavilion at Expo 2020 as a point of contact for people interested in contributing to the airline's future-focused projects, such as those involving the metaverse, NFTs, and Web 3.