From January 6, online payments with bank cards will only be verified through the bank's app, not via SMS.

According to messages sent to customers this week, several major banks operating in the United Arab Emirates have informed their customers that as part of a move towards app-based authentication, the sending of one-time passwords (OTP) via SMS for online purchases with bank cards will be stopped.

In messages issued on December 31, 2025, banks with the largest customer base in the country announced that from January 6, 2026, one-time passwords for online bank card transactions will no longer be sent via SMS. Instead, payment verifications will be exclusively conducted through the bank's mobile app.

In these messages, copies of which have been seen by local media, the banks stated:
«From January 6, 2026, the sending of one-time passwords (OTP) via SMS for online purchases with bank cards will be discontinued.»
Customers have also been requested to download and activate their mobile banking app for secure payment verification.

Source: Gulf News