After ADIB’s launch, more UAE banks could find a winner in salary advance products

After ADIB’s launch, more UAE banks could find a winner in salary advance products

Dubai: Will salary advances turn out to be the next major initiative from UAE banks? If that’s the case, they could see some heavy interest from their salaried account holders, because the times are such, when more residents are finding it difficult to dip into their incomes until the end of the month against a general increase in inflation-led cost of living. A handful of the big banks are thinking of getting into salary advances, while UAE’s newly launched digital-only banks with a heavy focus on consumer banking could also be likely entrants. Abu Dhabi heavyweight ADIB is definitely not waiting for more evidence of likely end-user interest, and launched the ‘Yusr’, where its salaried account holders can get an advance on their salaries within five minutes. A top official at ADIB says the product offers a timely option for those short of funds by month-end. Yusr is “developed in response to customers’ needs who usually pay such expenses through either card payment plans or seek alternative financial support”, said Samih Awadalla, acting Global Head of Retail Banking Group at ADIB. “We observed that people sometimes face difficulty in bridging the gaps for their regular payments prior to receiving their