The United Arab Emirates has activated its first domestic payment card scheme, Jaywan, with the central bank announcing the start of issuance by banks and licensed financial institutions. Managed by the central bank subsidiary Al Etihad Payments, the sovereign card network is designed to reduce reliance on international schemes, lower transaction costs, and strengthen the country’s digital payments infrastructure. First Abu Dhabi Bank immediately launched its Jaywan debit card, and the scheme will be accepted across point-of-sale terminals, e-commerce platforms, ATMs, and digital wallets, with both domestic and eventual international functionality. The launch, overseen by Deputy Prime Minister Sheikh Mansour bin Zayed Al Nahyan, positions the UAE alongside a small group of nations operating independent card rails.

Alongside the payments overhaul, the UAE is advancing a mandatory e-invoicing regime. The Ministry of Finance has pre-approved 42 service providers, including the software firm Tax Star, to help businesses meet staggered deadlines. Large enterprises with annual revenue above Dh50 million must select a provider by 30 October 2026 and begin transmitting compliant invoices by 1 January 2027; smaller firms have until March and July 2027 respectively. Non-compliance carries a monthly fine of Dh5,000. The dual push—sovereign payments infrastructure and digitised tax reporting—reflects a broader Gulf trend toward tightening financial oversight while building homegrown alternatives to global platforms.

In West Africa, Nigeria’s Revenue Service has set a 31 July deadline for large taxpayers—companies with turnover of at least N5 billion—to fully adopt the national e-invoicing and electronic fiscal system. Over 1,000 firms had complied by the first quarter, and the tax authority warns that defaulters face regulatory and enforcement actions. Moscow, meanwhile, has approved legislation making tax monitoring compulsory for residents of special economic zones, requiring them to grant the Federal Tax Service online access to accounting data within two years of signing an agreement. The move extends a decade-old voluntary system and is part of a wider effort to improve the efficiency of zones that have generated 752 billion rubles in taxes but drawn scrutiny from the finance ministry. In Washington, the Internal Revenue Service confirmed it may conduct home visits for taxpayers who have ignored repeated notices and left debts unresolved for extended periods, a final step before seizing assets.

Separately, the UAE’s financial market continues to draw international operators. Tradewill Group secured a Category 5 licence from the Capital Market Authority, permitting it to promote and introduce clients to its Trade W multi-asset platform, which reports 6 million active users and $70 billion in monthly trading volume. The next factual milestones to watch are Nigeria’s 31 July e-invoicing deadline and the UAE’s 30 October provider-selection cutoff for large businesses, both of which will test the enforcement capacity of the respective tax authorities.