Abu Dhabi, November 25, 2025, The Central Bank of the UAE (CBUAE) has announced plans to offer a range of digital savings and small-value investment products aimed at low-income workers and laborers. This is part of a larger effort to make financial services more accessible to everyone in the Emirates. The services, which will be available through the Central Securities Depository System (CSDs) and linked to the CBUAE’s Open Finance architecture, should be available on the market in the next one to two years.
What the new digital savings will do: easy, small, and available
In short, make it easier to save.
A little longer: workers can save small amounts of money, like pocket change, and earn interest without having to go to a branch or meet strict salary requirements. Saif Al Dhaheri, Assistant Governor for Banking Operations and Support Services, talked about the plan at the MENA Financial Inclusion Leaders Summit in Abu Dhabi. It aims to make it easier for the UAE’s large, diverse workforce to use regulated financial services by pairing small-value accounts with automated tools like smart contracts, multilingual AI help, and remote account opening.
Why this is important: Up until now, a lot of low-wage workers used cash, informal savings clubs, or expensive remittance channels. Bringing them into regulated digital products lowers costs, makes things more clear, and leaves a digital trail that can lead to more services in the future, like loans, insurance, and better ways to send money.
A quick look at the main features that were announced
- Small-deposit accounts with interest, made to take small, regular deposits and pay interest on them.
- Distribution through the CSDs platform, the Central Securities Depository System will host or distribute the products, making it easier to keep track of records.
- With Open Finance integration, users can safely share verified financial data, compare offers, and open accounts from anywhere.
- Smart contracts and automation make it easier to save, move money, and make small investments without having to do the same thing over and over.
- Multilingual AI guidance, conversational AI that explains products in the most common languages spoken by the UAE’s 200+ nationalities.
When put together, these parts are meant to lower friction so that a worker can go from “I don’t know where to start” to “I’ve got a growing balance” with as little paperwork and as few in-person steps as possible.
The announcement in context: where this fits into the UAE’s plan for digital finance
The push for digital savings isn’t a one-time thing. It is next to two other, bigger programs that the Central Bank has been working on in public:
- The Open Finance Framework started with Open Banking and then Open Insurance. It requires licensed institutions to allow secure data sharing so that third parties can create services that are specific to each user. It lets users compare financial offers, share verified information, and most importantly, open accounts from anywhere once they have been verified. These new products for workers will ride on these rails.
- The Digital Dirham (CBDA / CBDC program) is a central bank digital currency project that has already been tested in pilots and cross-border trials. It is part of the CBUAE’s Financial Infrastructure Transformation (FIT) plan. It adds programmable money, the ability to use it offline, and wallet-based access. These are features that could later help with small transactions and micropayments on a large scale. The Central Bank’s public reports say that these tools will help more people who don’t have bank accounts or don’t have enough money to get formal financial services.
So, the new worker products are the next logical step. They are not just a new account, but a use case in a bigger system that is meant to get more people into the regulated financial system.
Timeline and rollout: what you can really expect
Officials said that the products should arrive in one to two years and will be available through the CSDs platform. That time frame is short in terms of policy, but it fits with the Central Bank’s phased approach: first came regulation (Open Finance), then came pilots and tech integration (Digital Dirham trials and mBridge cross-border experiments), and finally came the rollout of the product. The bank has said that it will first make sure that users are safe by putting in place verification, liability frameworks, and oversight.
To be clear, “one to two years” means design, pilot, vendor integration, and regulatory checks. This means that the product probably won’t be available nationwide right away, but targeted pilots could happen sooner in controlled settings.
What officials really said at the summit
Saif Al Dhaheri talked about the operational vision at the MENA Financial Inclusion Leaders Summit. He said, “Another advantage of the Open Finance platform is that workers can open a bank account from anywhere once their information is verified.” “We are working to cover the most widely spoken languages… using AI to help them analyze and understand financial data in a simple way.” These comments, which were repeated in regional news stories, highlight two important goals: remote onboarding and making the service available in many languages.
A note on the facts: these comments were made during a conference panel and are more about policy direction than specific product terms. Regulators and participating financial institutions will set the interest rates, exact eligibility rules, customer protection limits, and fees later.
Why low-income workers are now a policy focus
There is a clear reason. The UAE’s workforce is very international and moves around a lot. Many workers send some of their pay abroad and use cash-based systems. Three gaps have long been known to policymakers:
- Access, a lot of workers don’t have bank accounts or use informal savings.
- Cost, sending money, and getting services in person can be expensive.
- Language and literacy, workers often can’t get financial information in their native languages.
The new products are meant to help fill in the gaps: opening an account from a distance and using AI that can speak multiple languages lowers language and access barriers; automated, digital product comparison lowers hidden costs; and connecting to the national financial infrastructure builds trust and oversight. These aren’t just vague goals; they’re real ways to make formal finance work for people who have always been on the outside.
A short story about how a small account can change a life
Think of a construction worker who sends money home every month. He pays for things he needs every day with cash and pays an extra fee to send money through an agent. He wants to save, even a little, but banks want papers that he doesn’t have. Now picture him being able to open an account on his phone, in his own language, with an automatic plan that puts AED 5 into a small savings pot every day. It sounds small. But over time, those small amounts build up interest, lower the cost of sending money, and create a record of transactions. This is what lenders, insurers, and landlords look for when they think about offering services.
In theory, this is how it should work. The Central Bank’s pilots and the Open Finance rollouts will show if it works as planned.
How the Digital Dirham and smart contracts work together
The Digital Dirham project came up with a number of building blocks that could be used to make products for workers. These include wallet-based access, programmability (smart contracts), offline usability for places with bad internet, and an intermediated distribution model where banks and other licensed entities provide wallets. The Central Bank’s public primer makes it clear that programmability and smart contract functionality were looked into in order to make new use cases possible, such as automated savings rules or conditional remittances, which are helpful for people who only have a little bit of money.
But be careful: the CBUAE has said that the first Digital Dirham design will not pay out at launch to encourage people to use it for payments instead of saving. If the CBUAE decides to allow payment in specialized products, it will be a policy choice that weighs the risks of financial stability against the need for inclusion.
Questions about rules and protecting consumers
One thing is digital inclusion, and another is protecting consumers. People who work in civil society and experts often ask, “How will the bank protect low-income savers from fees, data misuse, bad advice, or complicated products?”
People say that the CBUAE’s Open Finance rules include strict rules for data sharing and require licensed institutions to take part under regulatory supervision. That gives consumers a basic level of protection, but the specifics are important. Fees, disclosure in native languages, ways to settle disputes, and limits on automated decision-making will all affect whether these products really help or hurt vulnerable users. As part of the framework, the Central Bank has repeatedly stressed the importance of safe, regulated data sharing and oversight.
Removing the minimum salary barrier is one of the related policy moves
The Central Bank has taken other steps to make it easier for people to get loans, and this is the latest one. Earlier this month, the CBUAE got rid of a strict minimum salary requirement for personal loans. This change was widely reported in the UAE media. Now, when banks look at loan applications, they can use other ways to verify income, like the Wage Protection System. That change, along with the new push for digital savings, shows that there is a concerted effort to redesign retail financial services for people who don’t have formal salary documentation or high monthly wages.
When you put these initiatives together, they make it easier to get to basic accounts and credit, as long as there are regulated safeguards in place.
Possible benefits for payroll and remittances
The real-world effects could be wide-ranging. Digital accounts that cost less make it less necessary to use cash and expensive remittance agents. Programmable wallets could automate regular remittances at the best times. If they are connected to the Wage Protection System, employers might be able to deposit salaries directly into digital wallets, which would make things easier and more compliant.
For example, a worker who gets paid into a wallet that supports low-cost cross-border settlement can send money home with lower fees or set up regular savings transfers back to family with very little effort. This can make a big difference in household finances over time. The CBUAE’s public documents say that one of the goals of the Digital Dirham is to make it easier to send money across borders.
What experts will look for during pilots?
Policymakers, banks, and consumer advocates will want to see clear results in several areas:
- Adoption rates: Do workers really use the apps and wallets?
- Lower costs, are the fees for sending money and services really lower?
- Language effectiveness: Does AI that can speak more than one language really help people understand?
- Security and privacy are the rules for sharing data, clear and easy to follow?
- Financial outcomes: do users save money, avoid bad credit, and access other services?
People will judge pilots not only by how many workers sign up, but also by how much better their financial lives get, lower transfer costs, higher savings rates, and fewer days without cash. The Central Bank has stressed that there should be measured rollouts to test design choices before the full launch.
Who will sell the goods, banks, exchanges, or fintechs?
Licensed financial institutions (banks, exchange houses, and payment providers) are expected to act as wallet providers and middlemen under the Open Finance framework and the Digital Dirham distribution model. The CBUAE’s design is based on an intermediated model in which licensed financial institutions (LFIs) handle customer interfaces and the central bank handles issuance and validation. This lowers the risk of disintermediation and makes use of the industry’s existing capacity. That means that existing banks and new fintech partners will probably sell the products together.
What workers need to know right now
- You probably don’t need to do anything today. There is still regulatory and technical work to be done, and pilot phases are likely to happen before a full public launch.
- Start gathering documents that show who you are and where you work, because you will still need to prove these things when you start working from home. You could use the Wage Protection System (WPS) as a way to check.
- Watch for pilots: targeted pilots usually show up first in certain emirates or sectors, like construction, domestic work, or transportation, where there is a lot of demand.
- Before you sign up, ask about fees and how to handle disputes. Even products that are regulated may have small fees that add up. Regulators will put a lot of weight on how well they protect consumers.
Bigger picture: the UAE’s role as a digital finance hub in the region
The UAE is now a testing ground for advanced financial infrastructure in the Gulf thanks to the CBUAE’s Digital Dirham project and the Open Finance architecture. If the products that focus on workers are successful, they will not only help more people get access, but they could also serve as models for other countries with large migrant workforces. The central bank’s reports clearly say that cross-border use cases and regional integration are strategic benefits of the Digital Dirham.
But people from other countries will be watching closely. Making CBDCs and programmable money bigger raises concerns about privacy, cybersecurity, and the loss of traditional banks. The CBUAE says it will handle these risks by rolling them out in stages, setting limits, and making sure there are clear legal frameworks. But the proof will be in the pudding.
Quick FAQ (for people who just want the basics)
Q: When will these accounts be ready?
A: Officials said “one to two years,” but phased pilots might show up sooner.
Q: Will these accounts earn interest?
A: The goal is to allow interest on small deposits for the worker-targeted products, but the exact rates and terms will be decided later.
Q: Do I need to go to the bank?
A: The Open Finance framework is meant to let people sign up for services from afar after their information has been checked, so many users may not need to go to a branch.
Q: Is my data safe?
A: The Central Bank’s framework has rules for safe data sharing. The rules for how to get your money back and how much data you can use will be spelled out in implementing rules.
What to expect and what to watch on the road ahead
Rollouts like this work best when they find a balance between new ideas, clear protections for customers, and real user testing. In the next six to twelve months, you can expect announcements on pilots, vendor partnerships, and government rules. Look out for:
- announcements of partnerships between banks and fintechs;
- pilot reports that show how many people are using it and what they think;
- information about fees, interest rates, and how to settle disputes;
- how the Digital Dirham pilots work with these products, especially the design and programmability of the wallet; and
- Feedback from worker groups and NGOs on how easy it is to use and how well it supports different languages.
Last note: measured hope
There is a reason to be cautiously hopeful. The Central Bank has the option to lower barriers for low-income workers thanks to the policy architecture, which includes Open Finance, CSDs distribution, and a programmable national digital currency. How things get done will matter. To make policy promises come true in real life, there need to be practical steps, such as multilingual guidance, clear complaint channels, fee limits, and plain-language disclosures.
