Network International has launched an in-store pilot allowing shoppers to pay with DDSC, the dirham-backed stablecoin, at two retail locations in the United Arab Emirates: Marks & Spencer at Dubai Festival City and LuLu Hypermarket at Khalidiyah Mall in Abu Dhabi. The pilot, announced 9-10 September 2026, runs on Network International’s existing point-of-sale terminals, with no separate checkout system required for participating retailers.
How the in-store stablecoin pilot works
Customers with a supported DDSC wallet scan a QR code displayed at the point of sale. Once the payment is confirmed, the merchant receives a notification through Network International’s existing acceptance infrastructure, and can choose to settle the transaction in DDSC, paid directly into a supported wallet, or in dirhams, depending on the arrangement agreed with Network International.
DDSC is pegged 1:1 to the dirham and operates on ADI Chain, the layer-2 blockchain built by Abu Dhabi’s ADI Foundation. The stablecoin is developed jointly by International Holding Company, First Abu Dhabi Bank and Sirius International Holding, and is licensed by the Central Bank of the UAE under its Payment Token Services Regulation, with approval granted in February 2026.
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Murat Cagri Suzer, group chief executive of Network International, said merchants “will be able to accept payments in DDSC and have the flexibility to settle in stablecoin.”
Ajay Hans Raj Bhatia, chief executive of Sirius International Holding, said the pilot turns “digital currencies into a practical reality for businesses and consumers.”
A retail test, not an institutional one
Most Gulf stablecoin activity to date has centred on institutional settlement, custody licences and wholesale transactions rather than everyday retail spending. This pilot moves DDSC into ordinary checkout at a supermarket and a department store, using infrastructure Network International already operates rather than a bespoke crypto-specific system. That distinction matters for adoption: a retail stablecoin pilot that requires merchants to install new hardware carries a much higher practical barrier than one that runs on terminals already in place.
Network International hasn’t disclosed how many additional retailers or locations will join the pilot, a timeline for wider rollout, or transaction volumes since launch. Whether merchants actually choose to settle in DDSC rather than converting immediately to dirhams is the detail likely to determine how far this expands beyond the two current locations.
