Mastercard, LiaPay to Issue Prepaid Cards Against Earned Wages

Mastercard will issue prepaid cards through LiaPay, a Gulf payroll app run by Liabify, giving salaried employees a way to draw on wages they have already earned before payday.

The rollout begins in the UAE and Qatar, then Saudi Arabia and Oman. Each worker receives a Mastercard Platinum prepaid card tied to the LiaPay app, usable in stores, online and for cross-border remittances over Mastercard's network, with authentication and fraud protection built in.

LiaPay's app combines payroll-embedded earned wage access with an employee wallet. Workers can reach salary already accrued without borrowing through traditional credit. The company says the setup fits local Wage Protection Systems and carries the backing of regulated financial institutions.

Muhammad Nana, senior vice president for digital partnerships across Eastern Europe, Middle East and Africa at Mastercard, cast the deal as the network's entry into payroll and earned wage access as card partner of choice.

Dr Allan Villegas, co-founder and chief executive of Liabify, said Gulf workers deserve dignified, instant access to money they have already earned.

LiaPay is live. Mawarid Finance acts as its BIN sponsor and Paymentology handles processing. Liabify also has an agreement with Deel and Anvin ERP covering more than 200,000 employees in the LiaPay network.

The companies point to a gap: millions of Gulf workers are paid through Wage Protection Systems yet remain underbanked, with few everyday payment tools. LiaPay treats payroll as the entry point to wider employee financial services, spanning payments, lending and remittances planned for later.

Further out, the roadmap includes a loyalty and rewards platform and Mastercard Move, the network's money movement portfolio.

For Mastercard, the draw is distribution. An employer already running payroll hands over a verified income stream and a ready user base in one step, an onboarding route consumer card marketing rarely gets.