Edenred UAE has received in-principle approval from the Central Bank of the UAE (CBUAE) for its application to operate as a licensed Stored Value Facility (SVF) provider.

The payroll solutions company currently serves more than 2.5 million employees across the country, many of whom rely on salary cards as their primary method of receiving and accessing wages.

The in-principle approval marks an intermediate step in the CBUAE’s licensing process. This stage evaluates an applicant’s governance, compliance, cybersecurity and operational controls.

Edenred UAE will now focus on completing the remaining regulatory requirements before receiving a full SVF license.

The company has operated in the UAE market for over 18 years, processing monthly salaries for more than 20,000 businesses.

Its services support workers across sectors including construction, retail, hospitality and logistics.

Pursuing the SVF license aligns with the UAE financial sector’s broader efforts to develop regulated stored-value and payment products.

It also supports financial inclusion initiatives for unbanked and underbanked workers who require secure access to their wages.

“Our clients trust us with something deeply personal: making sure their people get paid, safely and on time,”

said Claudio Di Zanni, Managing Director of Edenred Middle East.

“Receiving in-principle approval from the Central Bank of the UAE is an important step in earning that trust at the highest regulatory level. We remain committed to completing the work ahead to reach full licensing.”

Featured image credit: Edited by Fintech News UAE, based on image by artkids via Magnific