Mastercard and LiaPay bring earned wage access cards to GCC workers

Mastercard has partnered with LiaPay, the GCC payroll app run by fintech Liabify, to issue Mastercard Platinum prepaid cards to salaried employees in LiaPay's network. Workers can spend wages they have already earned before payday, without traditional credit, in store, online and on cross-border remittances.

Rollout starts in the UAE and Qatar, with Saudi Arabia and Oman to follow. The service is aligned with local Wage Protection Systems, with Mawarid Finance as BIN sponsor and Paymentology as processor. LiaPay has an agreement with DEEL and Anvin ERP covering more than 200,000 employees.

Mastercard's Muhammad Nana, SVP Digital Partnerships EEMEA, said it marks Mastercard's entry into the payroll and earned wage access segment as card partner. Liabify co-founder and CEO Dr. Allan Villegas leads the company. The roadmap adds a loyalty platform and Mastercard Move.