Fintech
Botim Brings UAE's Jaywan Payment Scheme to Millions of Workers With New Prepaid Card
The initiative builds on Botim's Wages Protection System network, with corporate and exchange house partnerships supporting its expansion into the UAE's prepaid card market.
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Botim has launched a Jaywan prepaid card in the UAE, expanding its payroll business into everyday payments and giving workers another way to access and spend their salaries. The launch makes the company the first fintech platform in the country to issue a prepaid card under Jaywan, the UAE's national card scheme, with an initial target of more than 200,000 workers.
The Botim One Jaywan Prepaid Card will be distributed through corporate payroll relationships and exchange house partnerships, with the company aiming to eventually reach four million workers. Botim currently has more than 8.5 million users in the UAE and is drawing on its accreditation under the Ministry of Human Resources and Emiratisation's Wages Protection System (WPS) to reach employees receiving salaries through its platform.
The card allows users to make purchases at physical stores and online while connecting them with Botim's wider financial services. These include international money transfers to more than 170 destinations, fractional gold and silver investments starting at AED 10, and dining, travel, and lifestyle offers across more than 125 outlets and services. Eligible customers may also access credit products. Botim says users can register digitally in multiple languages without a minimum salary or minimum account balance requirement.
Bringing Jaywan Into the Payroll Ecosystem
Operated by Al Etihad Payments, a subsidiary of the Central Bank of the UAE, Jaywan began nationwide card issuance on July 20, 2026. The scheme was introduced to strengthen the country's domestic payments infrastructure, allowing local card transactions to be processed through the UAE's national payment system. Its cards support payments at point-of-sale terminals, online platforms, and ATMs, with international usage available through applicable network arrangements.
Acceptance has also expanded through partnerships with major businesses. Etihad Airways became the first airline to accept Jaywan for bookings through its website in August, while Network International integrated the scheme into its e-commerce payment gateway, extending acceptance to thousands of online merchants in the UAE.
Botim's entry brings Jaywan into an established payroll network, giving the scheme access to workers who already use the platform to receive their salaries. According to figures reported by Botim, approximately 65% of its fintech users are blue-collar workers, while another 31% belong to gray-collar professions. This customer base is central to the company's decision to introduce a prepaid card alongside its existing financial services.
For Botim, the launch also extends its relationship with employers and employees beyond salary distribution. Workers can use the card for everyday purchases while accessing transfers and other financial services through the same platform, reducing the need to rely on separate providers for each transaction.
Huru Also Prepares a Jaywan Card
Botim is among the fintech platforms moving to introduce products under the national scheme. UAE-based fintech Huru announced an expanded partnership with global issuer processor Paymentology on October 12 to introduce its own Jaywan card in the fourth quarter of 2026.
Huru reported AED 3 billion in annualized salary flows through its accounts, more than 24,000 employers using its platform, and partnerships with nine exchange houses. Its planned card will form part of its Universal Account offering, which provides customers with an individual IBAN that remains linked to them when they change employers. The company is targeting approximately one million Universal Accounts over the coming year.
The developments reflect growing interest in payroll-linked financial services across the UAE, with fintech companies extending their existing employer and employee relationships into payments and other financial products. For Jaywan, participation from platforms such as Botim adds another distribution channel alongside banks and exchange houses.
Botim's immediate focus will be on rolling out the card through its existing payroll and exchange house partnerships, with the longer-term ambition of reaching four million workers. The launch expands the company's financial services business while bringing the UAE's national card scheme to another segment of the country's workforce.
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