Emirates NBD’s digital bank Liv has partnered with Universal Digital Intl and Aquanow to offer the USDU stablecoin.
Issued by Universal, USDU is a USD-backed stablecoin registered by the Central Bank of the UAE (CBUAE).
According to the companies, this is the first integration of such a stablecoin into UAE digital banking.
The CBUAE registered the token under its Payment Token Services Regulation.
Meanwhile, Aquanow provides the infrastructure behind USDU distribution and Liv X, which began offering crypto services in 2025.
The company holds a licence from Dubai’s Virtual Assets Regulatory Authority (VARA).
Physical US dollar reserves held with UAE banks back each USDU token on a one-to-one basis. In addition, publicly available monthly attestations verify these reserves.
With this integration, Liv extends its digital asset offering to a regulated, USD-denominated asset.
As a result, customers can manage their everyday banking and digital asset portfolios within the same app.
“By integrating the CBUAE-registered USDU stablecoin into the Liv ecosystem, we are not only expanding our digital asset capabilities, but also offering our customers a secure, transparent and regulated bridge to digital assets within their everyday banking app,”
said Rohit Garg, Group Head of Retail Products and Chief Digital Officer of Retail Banking and Wealth Management at Emirates NBD.
“USDU was built to bring transparent, USD-backed settlement into UAE regulatory frameworks,”
said Juha Viitala, Senior Executive Officer at Universal.
To mark the integration, Liv is offering customers zero fees on crypto purchases and sales for three months, aimed at both new and experienced users.
Featured image: Edited by Fintech News UAE, based on image by Emirates NBD via its Press Release.
