Financial inclusion remains one of the UAE’s most urgent socio-economic priorities as the country continues pushing digital transformation and strengthening worker welfare frameworks. With more than 60% of the UAE workforce earning under AED 5,000, the way salaries are paid, accessed, and used has become central to sustainable labour reform.
While the Wage Protection System (WPS) has delivered near-universal digital salary coverage, a significant portion of the workforce still struggles to access the full benefits of digital finance. Edenred’s 2025 behavioural analysis highlights five shifts that will define the next phase of progress in 2026.
- Digital salaries are universal, and cash dependency is starting to break
The UAE’s WPS framework created universal digital salary coverage years ago, but workers continued to rely almost entirely on cash. That behaviour is shifting, with the strongest multi-year decline in cash dependency recorded to date.
This is the first time the UAE has seen a consistent, multi-year decline in cash dependency among low-income workers. This marks a 15-point drop (from 84% to 69%) in just two years, the strongest decline recorded to date. Cash dependency is no longer static, it is structurally falling.
While cash dependency is decreasing overall, when workers do withdraw cash, many still do so very soon after being paid: around 45% of workers withdraw their salary within the first 24 hours, 15% between one and three days, and another 15% after more than three days.
At the same time, online money transfers have become the fastest-growing digital behaviour among low-income workers, driven by simpler multilingual journeys, transparent pricing, and stronger anti-fraud measures.
If current patterns hold, cash withdrawals could fall below 60% for the first time, signalling a fundamental change in how the UAE workforce manages its income: from “digital salary, cash life” to genuine digital usage. - Salary apps are evolving into “workforce super-apps,” not just bank replacements
Payroll apps have moved far beyond balance checks; they now function as integrated super-apps that bundle multiple essential services like remittances, bill payments, micro-savings, and more into a single, easy-to-use platform for low-income workers.
HR teams using integrated mobile-accessible payroll ecosystems report up to 25% higher employee satisfaction. But in 2026, the real gains will come from added services layered on top of core payroll, including non-financial features that support day-to-day living.
This evolution reduces the need for multiple standalone apps and helps workers navigate everyday tasks more easily, especially those with limited digital familiarity. The payroll app is becoming a daily utility, not just a salary access point.
- Financial literacy is becoming a business priority
For employers, financial literacy is no longer a secondary employee benefit. It directly affects productivity, HR workload, and worker stability. When workers do not understand basic financial concepts, the consequences appear immediately: repeated payroll queries, misunderstandings about deductions, and higher dispute rates.
Although the UAE is one of the region’s most innovative economies, fewer than 31% of residents demonstrate basic financial literacy. This gap grows more significant as new financial products emerge, including salary-linked loans that no longer require minimum income thresholds.
As a result, more employers are partnering with fintechs to deliver structured, multilingual education on budgeting, savings, digital tool usage, and responsible credit behaviour. Field-level activations remain the most effective: on-site card distribution and in-person workshops consistently lead to higher activation rates and safer usage.
For employers, the benefits are clear: improved productivity, reduced turnover, and better worker stability, especially in construction, facilities management, and logistics. - Compliance standards are rising, and employers need clearer visibility into payroll risks
In the first half of 2025 alone, MoHRE flagged more than 5,400 establishments for labour-law violations, including unpaid wages and failures to process salaries through WPS, following 285,000 inspection visits. This demonstrates that WPS non-compliance is no longer a theoretical risk but a real enforcement reality.
With fines, administrative actions, and work-permit restrictions increasing, employers are under greater pressure to ensure that payroll processes are transparent, timely, and fully aligned with WPS rules.
Compliance moves from paperwork to continuous monitoring. Employers that invest in transparent, insight-rich payroll ecosystems will face fewer surprises and fewer fines. - AI and data analytics are enabling more personalized financial support
In 2026, the value of AI in financial inclusion lies in its ability to detect behavioural risk early and deliver targeted support. The sector has long relied on blanket education and generic fraud warnings, which are often ineffective for workers with limited financial knowledge or high daily financial stress.
AI now enables earlier identification of unusual spending patterns, potential fraud exposure, salary-flow irregularities, and signs of financial distress. These models increasingly act as early-warning systems for both workers and employers.
The impact depends on translating insights into simple, multilingual actions: timely alerts, clearer fraud messages, and practical financial tips that help workers stabilise budgets and avoid shocks.
AI alone cannot close the inclusion gap. Trust, clarity, and human-readable communication remain essential. AI diagnoses the risk; inclusion comes from turning those diagnostics into straightforward guidance that supports safer financial decision-making and more stable habits.
