United Arab Emirates Gift Card Business Report 2026: $2.43 Bn Market Expands as Amazon and Majid Al Futtaim Anchor Retail Issuance While Banks and Super-Apps Broaden Distribution - Forecast to 2030

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• By the end of 2030, the Gift Card sector is projected to expand from its 2025 value of USD 2.20 billion to approximately USD 3.54 billion

  80% confidence

• The market is forecast to grow at a CAGR of 9.9% from 2026-2030

  80% confidence

• Competition is expected to intensify around ecosystems, with wallets, banks, and large retailers strengthening closed-loop and semi-open-loop offerings

  80% confidence

• Barriers to entry will rise due to compliance, integration, and scale requirements

  80% confidence

• Standalone gift card providers will increasingly depend on partnerships with banks, wallets, and enterprise clients to remain relevant

  80% confidence

• Physical cards will persist mainly for in-mall gifting and tourist use cases, but will decline in strategic importance

  80% confidence

• Wallet-native gift cards will gain prominence, particularly for digital commerce and peer-to-peer gifting

  80% confidence

• The gift card market in the UAE has experienced robust growth during 2021-2025, achieving a CAGR of 11.3%

  80% confidence

• Account-linked digital gift cards are expected to become the default format for large retailers and marketplaces

  80% confidence

• Standalone gift card platforms will increasingly rely on wallet partnerships for scale

  80% confidence

• Corporate-driven gift card volumes are expected to expand steadily, with increased demand for category-restricted and time-bound digital balances

  80% confidence

• The Gift Card market in the United Arab Emirates is expected to grow by 10.5% on annual basis to reach US$2.43 billion in 2026

  80% confidence

• The UAE gift card market is moderately concentrated, with competition shaped by large retailers, banks, and wallet ecosystems rather than standalone gift card specialists

  80% confidence

• Experience-led and multi-merchant gift cards will gain relevance, particularly in tourism-heavy emirates

  80% confidence

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