Mastercard has partnered with Liabify’s LiaPay to issue prepaid cards giving GCC employees access to earned wages before payday.
Under the agreement, Mastercard will provide prepaid cards to salaried employees using LiaPay, a payroll app operated by fintech company Liabify, across four GCC markets. The cards are intended to give workers access to wages they have already earned ahead of their scheduled payday, as well as a means of making everyday digital payments.
Employees in LiaPay’s network will receive a Mastercard Platinum prepaid card linked to the LiaPay app. The card can be used wherever Mastercard is accepted, including in store, online, and for cross-border remittances, with authentication and fraud protection built in. According to Mastercard, the collaboration marks the company’s entry into the payroll and earned wage access (EWA) segment as a card partner.
How the LiaPay model works
LiaPay’s payroll-embedded EWA and employee wallet products are aligned with local Wage Protection Systems (WPS) and backed by regulated financial institutions. The model allows workers to draw on salary they have already earned without relying on traditional credit, with the stated aim of increasing everyday spending capacity for the region’s workforce, including middle-income employees.
The partnership builds on LiaPay’s existing live launch, for which Mawarid Finance acts as BIN sponsor and Paymentology as processor. LiaPay has also recently signed an agreement with Deel and Anvin ERP, intended to benefit more than 200.000 employees in its network.
Muhammad Nana, Senior Vice President, Digital Partnerships, EEMEA, Mastercard, said the company would bring its global network, technology, and expertise to support LiaPay, with the aim of strengthening financial security and advancing financial inclusion across the GCC. Furthermore, Dr. Allan Villegas, co-founder & CEO, Liabify, stated that the company’s goal is to give workers in the Gulf instant access to money they have already earned.
The initial rollout is planned for the UAE and Qatar, with expansion to Saudi Arabia and Oman to follow. The companies state that the model is designed to scale across the GCC and other emerging markets.
Beyond cards, the roadmap includes a loyalty and rewards platform aimed at increasing user engagement, as well as Mastercard Move, the company’s portfolio of money movement capabilities.
Financial inclusion context
According to the companies, millions of workers in the GCC are paid through WPS but remain underbanked, with limited access to everyday payment tools. LiaPay uses payroll as a distribution channel to build a wider employee financial services offering covering payments and lending, with remittances planned for the future.
With this in mind, through the process of placing a Mastercard credential at the point where employees access their income, the companies expect to generate frequent, low-risk card usage from the outset. The arrangement is also positioned to support LiaPay’s regional expansion plans.
The partnership extends Mastercard’s card network into a payroll-led distribution model in the Gulf, where wage disbursement through WPS offers an established channel for reaching workers who have limited access to conventional banking services.
