The UAE is expanding the upgraded digital version of its Wage Protection System, giving more employers access to integrated salary-payment services through banks, exchange houses and other approved providers.
The Wage Protection System itself is not new. The UAE has used WPS since 2009 to monitor wage payments and help ensure workers receive the salaries registered in their employment contracts.
What changed more recently was the technology behind it.
In December 2025, the Ministry of Human Resources and Emiratisation (MoHRE), Central Bank of the UAE and Al Etihad Payments launched an upgraded version using secure digital connections between government systems and participating financial institutions.
A further expansion announced on 28 October 2026 added seven more financial institutions to the network.
What has actually changed?
The upgraded WPS uses secure application programming interfaces, or APIs, to allow information to move directly between:
MoHRE · Al Etihad Payments · participating banks and exchange providers
The objective is to reduce paperwork, speed up employer registration and verification, improve accuracy and allow salary-payment information to be monitored more efficiently.
For employers, that can mean handling more of the WPS process through their financial institution’s digital platform rather than relying on separate manual procedures.
For employees, the change is mostly behind the scenes.
Workers do not normally need to activate WPS themselves simply because their employer’s bank has joined the upgraded system.
Which financial institutions are participating?
The October expansion added:
- First Abu Dhabi Bank;
- Emirates NBD;
- Dubai Islamic Bank;
- Mashreq;
- Ajman Bank;
- Lari Exchange; and
- First Gulf Exchange Centre.
They joined an existing group that includes providers such as Al Ansari Exchange, Lulu Exchange, GCC Exchange, Al Fardan Exchange, Wio Bank, Abu Dhabi Islamic Bank, Al Maryah Community Bank, Habib Bank AG Zurich, e& Group and Botim.
That brings the upgraded network to 17 participating institutions.
Employers should still confirm whether the particular bank or exchange provider they use supports the required WPS service and what onboarding procedure applies.
How large is WPS?
MoHRE says WPS now covers more than 99% of private-sector workers.
Average monthly wage transfers through the system are approximately AED37 billion.
That scale helps explain why even relatively technical changes to the payment infrastructure matter.
WPS is not simply another payroll option.
It is also one of the main mechanisms through which authorities monitor whether employers are paying workers the agreed wages on time.
What does WPS protect?
UAE labour regulations require establishments registered with MoHRE to pay employees’ wages on the agreed due date through WPS or another system approved by the Ministry.
The system allows regulators to compare salary information against employment records and monitor whether required payments have been made.
However, WPS does not replace the employment contract.
An employee should still understand:
basic salary;
allowances;
total contractual wage;
salary due date; and
any lawful deductions.
The amount received should make sense when compared with those contractual terms.
What should employees check each month?
Employees do not need to understand the technical infrastructure behind WPS.
A simpler checklist is useful.
Check:
Did the salary arrive when expected?
Does the amount match the employment agreement and any authorised deductions?
Does the payment record correspond with the payslip?
Have there been unexplained deductions or repeated delays?
Keep copies of:
- employment contracts;
- payslips;
- salary notifications;
- bank statements; and
- written correspondence concerning any salary dispute.
Those records can become important if a disagreement later needs to be formally reviewed.
What if the salary is late?
A technical WPS upgrade does not change an employee’s underlying right to receive the agreed wage.
If a payment is delayed or incorrect, employees can first request a clear written explanation from the employer, particularly if the issue may be a payroll-processing error.
If the matter is not resolved, MoHRE provides formal labour-complaint channels.
Workers can lodge or seek advice about a complaint through:
MoHRE website
MoHRE mobile app
Labour Claims and Advisory Centre — 80084
MoHRE also lists 600590000 for general contact and WhatsApp enquiries.
Employees should not rely on unofficial agents promising to “release” or “activate” a WPS salary in return for payment.
Does an employee need to pay to activate WPS?
No normal employee activation payment has been announced.
WPS is primarily an employer payroll-compliance mechanism.
A worker receiving a message asking for:
an OTP, bank PIN, UAE PASS approval, card credentials or a payment to release a WPS salary
should treat it cautiously.
Do not provide banking credentials through unsolicited links.
Contact the employer’s payroll department, bank or MoHRE through official channels instead.
What should employers verify?
For businesses, the October expansion may make payroll administration easier, but the employer remains responsible for compliance.
Employers should confirm:
- the salary due date registered in employment contracts;
- correct employee and wage data;
- the approved bank or exchange-provider procedure;
- payroll-file or digital submission requirements;
- whether the financial institution is connected to the upgraded WPS platform;
- treatment of lawful deductions or unpaid leave; and
- how rejected or failed salary transactions are corrected.
The upgraded platform can simplify processing.
It does not transfer the legal responsibility for paying wages from the employer to the bank or exchange house.
What if a salary payment fails?
A rejected payroll transaction should be investigated rather than simply resubmitted without understanding the cause.
Possible issues can include:
incorrect employee data, bank-account problems, payroll-file errors, contract-data discrepancies or insufficient employer funding.
Employers should use their participating financial institution and MoHRE channels to resolve the underlying issue and retain evidence of any correction.
The Central Bank describes WPS as a system that monitors fund flows, employer payments, employee-level wage information and confirmation of wage disbursement.
That means accurate payroll information is important on both the employer and financial-institution sides.
Does WPS apply to everyone in exactly the same way?
No.
The October announcement primarily concerns the MoHRE-linked private-sector WPS framework.
Specific rules can differ for:
domestic workers, exempt employee categories, some free-zone arrangements and other employment structures.
For example, MoHRE has separate WPS guidance for domestic workers, including mandatory and optional categories depending on the occupation.
Employees and employers should therefore check the framework that applies to their particular employment relationship rather than assuming one rule covers every worker in the UAE.
Why the upgrade matters
The biggest benefit may not be visible to an employee receiving a normal monthly salary.
The upgraded system allows data to move more directly between employers, financial institutions and government systems.
That can improve:
salary-payment tracking;
processing accuracy;
employer onboarding;
regulatory monitoring; and
identification of delayed or missing wage payments.
MoHRE says the upgraded WPS has evolved from primarily being a compliance tool into a broader digital financial platform supporting labour-market monitoring and financial inclusion.
MalluMetro Take
The important story is not that UAE employees now have a completely new salary system.
They do not.
WPS has been part of the UAE labour market since 2009.
What is changing is the infrastructure behind it.
The upgraded platform launched in December 2025 is now connecting more banks, exchange houses and digital providers directly with MoHRE and Al Etihad Payments.
For employees, the practical rule remains straightforward:
check that the correct salary arrives on time, keep your records, and use official MoHRE channels if something is wrong.
For employers, digitisation may make payroll easier.
But easier processing does not change the basic obligation:
the correct wage still has to reach the worker when it is due.
Verified sources: Ministry of Human Resources and Emiratisation; Central Bank of the UAE; Al Etihad Payments; Emirates News Agency. Upgraded WPS status rechecked 12 November 2026.