Enhancing financial inclusion with digital financial solutions for the unbanked in the UAE Qorus-Infosys Finacle Banking Innovation Awards 2024

In the UAE, a significant portion of the population consists of unbanked blue-collar migrants – nearly 60% 0f migrants constitute unbanked, low income workers. Most of them do not have access to formal banking channels, and cannot open bank accounts as their monthly wages are very low. As a part of the UAE’s WPS program, RAKBANK partnered with Edenred, one of the first WPS agents in the UAE, and now processes monthly wages for nearly 2 million migrant workers electronically paid into prepaid wage cards issued by RAKBANK.

With limited financial means, these migrant workers rely on social media and messaging apps to stay in touch with their loved one’s back home, and with an internet penetration of 99%, is one of the reasons the UAE has among the largest smartphone penetration globally (>96%). Almost every migrant worker has a low end smart phone, and many of them spend hours on it using free messaging apps and social media channels such as youtube to keep themselves entertained. RAKBANK recognized this as an opportunty to enhance financial inclusion by extending it’s financial services platform to cardholders, that could access digital financial services via a mobile app.

RAKBANK now has a suite of microfinance products specially designed to the underbanked in the UAE, including instant cross border remittance solutions with a variety of payout options, access to formal credit and micro insurance.