Bank & market adoption
Emirates NBD's Liv adds CBUAE-registered USDU stablecoin via Universal and Aquanow
Middle EastSource: Emirates NBD
AI-generated image- Liv, Emirates NBD's digital bank, has partnered with Universal Digital Intl Ltd and Aquanow ME FZE to introduce USDU, which the release describes as the UAE's first CBUAE-registered USD-backed stablecoin, into the Liv ecosystem.
- Universal issues USDU, registered by the Central Bank of the UAE under its Payment Token Services Regulation, and says it is backed 1:1 by physical US dollar reserves safeguarded with UAE banks and verified through monthly attestations; Aquanow provides the infrastructure behind both USDU distribution and Liv X crypto trading.
- Liv is also running a three-month zero-fee crypto trading campaign.
Why it matters
It is a template for a UAE bank distributing a third-party, CBUAE-registered dollar stablecoin inside its own retail app through a licensed infrastructure partner, rather than issuing one itself.
Read the original: Emirates NBD ↗
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More detail
Who is affected
Liv by Emirates NBD customers.
Key dates
- Liv, Universal and Aquanow announce USDU integration
What remains uncertain
- The release does not give a date when USDU becomes available in the Liv app, nor fees after the zero-fee campaign.
Adoption status
- AnnouncedEmirates NBDUSDU (Universal, CBUAE-registered USD stablecoin) in the Liv digital bank app via Aquanow
Key facts
- Event
- Product announcement
- Jurisdiction
- Middle East
- Source
- Emirates NBD (press release via Zawya)
- Source tier
- Tier 2 · Bank / FMI
- Product
- Stablecoin payments
In the database
Institutions
How we verified this
The source says
“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.”
“Registered by the CBUAE and issued by Universal, USDU is backed by 1:1 physical US dollar reserves, safeguarded with UAE banks and verified through publicly available monthly attestations.”
“Aquanow is the regulated digital asset infrastructure partner behind both USDU distribution and Liv X crypto trading.”
Verbatim from Emirates NBD (press release via Zawya), matched word for word against the live page on 13 November 2026.
Sources
- Official institutionalEmirates NBD (press release via Zawya) ↗2026-11-09T2Bank / FMI
Evidence
- Confidence
- Medium The institution’s own statement; quote string-matched. Proves what the institution says, not independent confirmation.
- Quote verified
- 2026-11-13 11:59 UTC
- Archived snapshot
- SHA-256
4baa38d03d33be79…· fetched 2026-11-09 · Wayback Machine copy ↗ - Source type
- Official institutional Emirates NBD (press release via Zawya) ↗
Change log (1)
- 2026-11-09 Published
AI-assisted: the summary and analysis were drafted with AI from the primary source and checked by the editors. AI-drafted from the primary source; quote string-matched against the live source page.
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