“Can the world's largest international airline become the financial and travel-services super-platform for global travelers by embedding payments, insurance, loyalty, and financing directly into its booking and loyalty ecosystem?”
Founded in 1985 as a Dubai government-backed airline, Emirates grew into the world's largest international airline operating to 137 destinations in 72 countries. Over time, Emirates has layered embedded finance capabilities onto its core airline business — launching account-based payments (Emirates Pay with Deutsche Bank/IATA in 2021), embedded travel insurance, installment payment options (Flex Pay), and regional payment partnerships (Cellulant in Africa, Tap Payments in MENA, Alipay in China). The airline's distribution strategy shifted significantly after 2020 with the Emirates Gateway NDC platform, enabling direct B2B API connections for travel agents and reducing reliance on legacy GDS systems.
Emirates processes payments through Cellulant (Tingg), Tap Payments and Deutsche Bank (Emirates Pay / account-based payments).
Emirates uses Signzy for KYC and identity verification.
Emirates uses Deutsche Bank for FX and cross-border payouts.
The Embedded Finance Index 2026 maps 4 layers in Emirates's stack: Payments / PSP (Cellulant (Tingg), Tap Payments and Deutsche Bank (Emirates Pay / account-based payments)); Lending (Flex Pay – Pay in installments (consumer installment financing for flight bookings)); KYC (Signzy); FX & payouts (Deutsche Bank).
Emirates is founded in 1985 and headquartered in Dubai, United Arab Emirates.
Get a read on where your own stack stands against Emirates and the rest of its category — what they built versus bought, which providers they use, and where the gaps in your own strategy and competitive set actually are.