His Highness Sheikh Maktoum bin Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, First Deputy Ruler of Dubai, Deputy Prime Minister, and Minister of Finance, today met with Alex Chriss, President and CEO of PayPal. The meeting took place at His Highness’s office in Nad Al Sheba, Dubai.

During the meeting, Sheikh Maktoum highlighted the UAE’s vision to strengthen its position as a focal point for the global financial industry by fostering innovation, resilience, and long-term competitiveness.His Highness affirmed that the UAE is committed to partnering with leading innovation-driven financial companies like PayPal to advance a digitally-enabled economy. Discussions at the meeting focused on boosting collaboration in digital payment systems, boosting e-commerce growth, enabling SMEs, and enhancing cross-border financial connectivity, in line with the UAE’s role as a global economic and trading centre.

His Highness noted that the continued expansion of PayPal’s regional operations from its base in Dubai Internet City is a strong testament to Dubai’s ability to offer a high-growth platform for global financial companies. Dubai’s infrastructure, supportive regulatory framework, and dynamic financial ecosystem provide global companies access to high-growth markets and strong potential for expansion, Sheikh Maktoum noted. He also emphasised that partnerships with companies like PayPal are vital to advancing the objectives of the Dubai Economic Agenda D33 to double the emirate’s GDP and turn it into one of the world’s top four financial hubs by 2033.

Founded in 1998, PayPal serves 434 million active consumer and merchant accounts across more than 200 markets, as of 2024-end. Last year, the company processed $1.68 trillion in total payment volume through 26 billion transactions, generating $31.8 billion in net revenue. PayPal has a workforce of over 24,400 people worldwide.

In April 2025, PayPal opened its regional headquarters for the Middle East and Africa in Dubai Internet City, marking a major milestone in its global expansion. Dubai serves as an operational and strategic base for around 80 countries across the Middle East and Africa region.

The meeting was attended by His Excellency Helal Saeed Almarri, Director General of the Dubai Department of Economy and Tourism; His Excellency Hamad Obaid Al Mansoori, Director General of Digital Dubai; His Excellency Malek Al Malek, Director General of the Dubai Development Authority and CEO of TECOM Group; and His Excellency Mohammad Ali Rashed Lootah, President and CEO of Dubai Chambers.