Explainer · 6 min read
Arc's Middle East partners — what's actually confirmed
Emirates NBD and First Abu Dhabi Bank have a sourced Arc connection going back to testnet. Careem is ecosystem-listed. Checked as of 2 Sep 2026.
Two UAE banks have a sourced Arc connection dating back to Circle's original public testnet launch: Emirates NBD and First Abu Dhabi Bank, both named as testnet-launch participants in October 2025 and both still listed on Circle's Arc ecosystem page as of 2 Sep 2026. Careem, the Dubai-based ride-hailing and payments app, is also listed on Circle's ecosystem page but was not named in the earlier testnet release — its Arc connection rests on that single, more recent listing. None of the three is a named founding validator.
Emirates NBD and First Abu Dhabi Bank
Both banks appear in Circle's 28 October 2025 press release announcing Arc's public testnet launch, alongside more than 100 other institutions across finance and infrastructure named as testnet participants. That release did not include specific quotes from either bank, unlike some other named institutions in the same list. As of 2 Sep 2026, both also appear on Circle's Arc ecosystem page, listed under the site's Enterprises/Banks grouping alongside institutions like Absa, BNY, Commerzbank, Deutsche Bank and HSBC — none of which are founding validators either, underscoring that this ecosystem page is a broader partner listing than the validator cohort. Together, the testnet-release naming and the current ecosystem-page listing give Emirates NBD and First Abu Dhabi Bank the strongest documented Arc connection of any Middle East institution Built on Arc reviewed: two independent, Circle-sourced touchpoints roughly ten months apart, though neither amounts to a product integration announcement, a specific use case, or a founding-validator role. Built on Arc found no press release, technical documentation, or product announcement describing what either bank is specifically building or planning on Arc beyond that dual listing.
Emirates NBD — Builds on Arc: Named as an Arc testnet partner in Oct 2025; no product integration confirmed since. Role: Integrates (Banks & Enterprises → Banks), no Founding validator mark. First Abu Dhabi Bank — Builds on Arc: Named as an Arc testnet partner in Oct 2025; no product integration confirmed since. Role: Integrates (Banks & Enterprises → Banks), no Founding validator mark.
Careem: a newer, thinner record
Careem — the Dubai-headquartered super-app for ride-hailing, delivery and payments, majority-owned by Uber — is listed on Circle's Arc ecosystem page as of 2 Sep 2026, described there as a company that "makes it easier to move around, order food and groceries, manage payments, and more." Unlike Emirates NBD and First Abu Dhabi Bank, Careem does not appear in Circle's earlier 28 October 2025 testnet-launch release naming testnet participants. That makes its documented Arc history shorter and thinner: one Circle-sourced touchpoint, the current ecosystem listing, rather than two. Built on Arc found no press release, product announcement, or technical detail describing what Careem's Arc relationship actually involves — payments rails, treasury infrastructure, or something else — beyond its inclusion on the partner page.
Builds on Arc: Ecosystem-listed super-app; no confirmed Arc product or integration as of Sep 2026. Role: Integrates · Category: Payments & Payouts.
What this guide leaves out, deliberately
The seed research behind this cluster flagged additional Gulf institutions as possibly Arc-connected; none of them turned up a sourced link in this research pass beyond general regional commentary about Gulf crypto and stablecoin activity unrelated to Arc specifically. This guide omits them rather than including a name on the strength of regional context alone. It also does not cover UAE or wider Gulf stablecoin and digital-asset regulation generally — that's a separate topic from "who is connected to Arc," and padding this page with it would blur a page whose only job is naming what's actually confirmed.
Sources: - Circle: Arc Public Testnet launch, 28 October 2025 - Arc ecosystem page - Circle: Founding Validator Cohort and Major Integrations for Arc
*Built on Arc is an independent directory. Arc is a Circle product; we are not affiliated with, endorsed by, or operated by Circle.*
Questions
Are Emirates NBD or First Abu Dhabi Bank Arc validators?
No. Neither appears in Circle's 5 August 2026 founding-validator list; their documented role is as named testnet participants and current ecosystem-page listings.
What is Careem actually doing on Arc?
Not specified in any Circle material Built on Arc reviewed — its only confirmed connection as of 2 Sep 2026 is inclusion on Circle's Arc ecosystem partner page.
Is there a Saudi Arabian institution with a confirmed Arc connection?
None found in this research pass. If one exists, it was not surfaced by Circle's press releases or its Arc ecosystem page as reviewed for this guide.
Does being on Circle's ecosystem page mean a company has shipped something on Arc?
No. It's a curated, Circle-controlled partner directory without a public verification process — a real, sourced signal of a relationship, not proof of a live product.
Is this page's Middle East coverage complete?
It reflects what Built on Arc could verify against Circle's own published materials as of 2 Sep 2026 — the region's actual Arc footprint may be larger than what Circle has publicly named, and this page will be updated if that changes.