For years, cash has been the default financial tool for millions of lower-income and expatriate workers in the UAE, even as digital salary payments became mandatory under the Wage Protection System (WPS). Today, that relationship with money is beginning to shift — not because of technology alone, but because of changing behaviour, trust, and lived financial experience.
According to Claudio Di Zanni, managing director – Middle East at Edenred, the most meaningful transformation underway is behavioural.
“The most important shift we are seeing is behavioural rather than purely technological,” Di Zanni said. “Lower-income workers are not only using digital tools more frequently, they are shifting core financial behaviours into digital channels.”
Edenred’s latest behavioural study, based on transaction analysis from 2.5 million users in the UAE — representing nearly half of the country’s unbanked population — points to a structural move away from cash. Digital remittances have more than tripled as a share of total payment volume, rising from 3.37 per cent to 10.34 per cent. “That 207 per cent increase signals a structural move away from cash-based transfers,” Di Zanni said.
At the same time, card payments at physical merchants have grown by 13 per cent, while the number of merchants used by Edenred cardholders has expanded by 238 per cent in four years. “That shows that acceptance infrastructure has widened enough for digital adoption to feel natural,” he said.
Two forces are driving this change. “First, users have become far more price-aware, actively comparing exchange rates, fees and promotions,” Di Zanni said. “Second, trust in digital transactions has improved.” What once felt risky now feels familiar, particularly as digital experiences become more reliable and transparent.
Access is not inclusion
Despite these gains, the data also highlights a persistent gap between digital access and true financial inclusion. While WPS has ensured near-universal digital salary payments, cash withdrawals remain dominant.
“Today, around 69 per cent of funds paid on salary cards are still withdrawn in cash,” Di Zanni said. “That figure is decreasing, but it reflects a persistent adoption gap.”
The reasons are less about infrastructure and more about psychology and risk perception. “For many workers, digital remittances still feel risky, and transferring up to 85 per cent of one’s income requires deep trust,” he said. Digital literacy, language barriers, and fear of irreversible mistakes continue to slow adoption.
One behavioural insight is particularly telling. “65 per cent of first-time remittance users on C3Pay send less than Dhs100 during their first transaction simply ‘to test whether the money reaches home,’” Di Zanni said. “This is not an access issue, it is an uncertainty issue.”
As trust builds, salary-linked apps are evolving beyond payroll tools into full financial ecosystems: a shift with profound implications for expatriate and blue-collar workers.
“Payroll apps have shifted from passive utilities into active financial hubs,” Di Zanni said. “For blue-collar and expatriate workers, whose financial lives revolve around a single income stream, this is transformative.”
Utility payments and mobile recharges are now widely adopted, enabling workers to support families back home directly without intermediaries. Access to short-term liquidity has also expanded. “Products like earned wage access, structured salary advances and controlled pay-later mechanisms help workers manage emergencies and income volatility without resorting to high-cost informal borrowing,” he said.
The next phase, however, goes beyond transactions. “The next inflection point will be the move from transactions to planning,” Di Zanni said. “Budgeting, saving and eventually investing become far more accessible when they are embedded in a payroll-linked environment that workers already trust.”
By integrating financial decision-making into everyday routines, payroll super-apps reduce intimidation and friction, which is a crucial step in building long-term resilience.
Remittances: cost, speed and social trust
Remittances remain the single most important financial use case for lower-income workers in the UAE. What is changing is not the motivation, but the method.
“Remittances are central to the expatriate experience in the UAE,” Di Zanni said. “What is changing is not why money is sent home, but how it is sent.”
Digital remittance adoption is being driven by competition and transparency. “Competition among platforms has intensified, resulting in lower fees, more competitive exchange rates and stronger referral incentives,” he said. Over time, even small pricing differences translate into meaningful savings for workers sending money monthly.
Friction has also fallen. “Onboarding is faster, compliance is simpler and in-app journeys are more intuitive,” Di Zanni said. Trust now spreads socially: when workers see colleagues saving money digitally, adoption accelerates through peer endorsement.
Employers are increasingly recognising that financial wellbeing is inseparable from workforce stability, productivity and compliance. However, not all initiatives deliver impact.
“Employer interest in financial wellbeing has increased noticeably, but effectiveness varies,” Di Zanni said. “Many organisations start with one-off workshops or tool demonstrations that don’t address real pressures workers face.”
The most successful programmes are grounded in daily realities. “Sessions that focus on topics such as budgeting, remittance costs or avoiding unnecessary fees tend to resonate far more,” he said. Frequency matters too. “Short, regular sessions offered in multiple languages and aligned with shift schedules see higher participation.”
Data-led insight can further improve outcomes. “Pulse checks also help employers understand whether challenges relate to debt, remittance pricing or day-to-day cash management,” Di Zanni said. Crucially, workers must feel safe asking questions. Digital and multilingual support channels often work better than group settings.
“Ultimately, the best initiatives remove friction and make good financial choices easier by default,” he said.
In sectors such as construction and facilities management, tighter compliance requirements are often seen as a potential source of friction. Di Zanni argues the opposite.
“In reality, stronger compliance often strengthens employee trust rather than undermining it,” he said. Payroll, wage protection and reporting regulations are designed to protect workers and ensure fairness.
The real balancing act lies in data handling. “Employees want to understand why their data is collected, how it is protected and where the boundaries lie,” Di Zanni said. Clear explanations, strong security standards and transparent communication are essential to maintaining trust while meeting regulatory obligations.
Edenred is increasingly deploying AI to identify early signs of financial stress and fraud risk, not to police behaviour, but to intervene earlier and more constructively.
“AI is most effective when it focuses on behavioural signals rather than isolated data points,” Di Zanni said. Sudden changes in spending patterns, unusual withdrawal timing or repeated short-cycle borrowing can all indicate stress. Deviations from historical behaviour or population norms may also flag fraud risk.
“Early detection benefits all parties,” he said. “For employers, it supports proactive risk management and helps prevent issues from escalating. For employees, it enables earlier access to support, clearer communication, and more relevant benefits.”
In this way, AI shifts organisations from reacting to crises to addressing vulnerability earlier.
Measuring success
Looking ahead, Di Zanni believes the definition of success in employee financial wellbeing will fundamentally change.
“Over the next three to five years, financial wellbeing in the UAE will be measured by outcomes rather than access,” he said. Indicators of progress will include fewer cash withdrawals, lower fraud incidence, reduced reliance on high-cost borrowing and fewer repeat short-term loans.
Cash will not disappear overnight, nor should it. “The goal is not to eliminate cash overnight,” Di Zanni said, “but to help workers build long-term financial resilience through trust, transparency and consistent positive outcomes.”
Digital participation remains central because it unlocks better pricing, stronger protection and greater convenience. Borrowing will still have a role, particularly for emergencies, but habitual borrowing signals deeper stress. Fraud, meanwhile, will remain a moving target as scams become more sophisticated.
“Platforms that succeed will embed prevention, education and support directly into everyday financial experiences,” Di Zanni said.
For employers, policymakers and platform providers alike, the message is clear: the transition from cash dependence to financial resilience is not a single leap, but a series of small, trusted steps — reinforced by data, empathy and design that reflects how people actually live and work.
Read: Murat Cagri Suzer on Network International’s blueprint for an AI-driven cashless society
